<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE>@page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin: 1.0in 1.25in 1.0in = 1.25in; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } A:link { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlink { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } A:visited { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.EmailStyle17 { COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Arial } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US vLink=purple link=blue> <DIV>Are the hammers quite hard? String breakage could be minimized by = adding some resiliance to the hammers so they give a little when they hit the = strings. I have a client with a Yamaha CF that has the same problem (octaves 5-6) = and this is the plan in the near future.</DIV> <DIV>Gene</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left>-----Original Message----- From: David V. Anderson [mailto:daverpt@wi.rr.com] Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 17:48 To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Samick string = breaker </DIV> <DIV class=Section1> I’ve got a = Wurlitzer C-143 (Samick) about 6 years old, which has become a habitual string = breaker.  I’m going out at the end of the week.  Since I = haven’t seen this piano for months, I can’t remember the capo/agraffe = configuration, but it seems to me that all the breakage is in octaves  5-7.  Not = confined to a particular wire size.  The capo shape doesn’t seem = particularly aggressive.  The breaks occur on long enough strings to rule out = a misplaced plate, I believe.(I haven’t taken measurements yet) =  I have only seen the piano over the last year, but this apparently started = about four years into service.  I know the condition of the hammers was = allowed to deteriorate before I first saw the instrument.  Private home, = hard player.  I suspect that the simple combination of a heavy player = on a small instrument with Ľ”+ of hammer contact is the cause, and = that even though the hammer shape has been corrected and is being maintained, the = damage has already been done.  Is there a brand-specific issue here, or = something else I’m missing?  I feel a musician would be better served = with a larger piano for a variety of other reasons, but is there a correlation = between a smaller instrument and accelerated wear?  He’ll be making a = decision between simply giving restringing the upper sections a try or = upgrading the piano.  I’d like some input to back my = recommendation.   David V. Anderson, RPT Milwaukee  </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>