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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>As the piano is miked, close the lid =
as I guess
its just open for visual effect.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Raise hammer line, lower =
let-off and
adjust all the rest of it to make it work with less power, turn up the =
volume of
the moniter speaker, have it stand next to pianist's ear.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Some of the above may work, some you =
can laugh
at</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR>Brian Lawson, RPT<BR>Johannesburg, South Africa</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>TEXOMA CHAPTER<BR><A
href="http://texoma.int.chapter.tripod.com">http://texoma.int.chapter.t=
ripod.com</A><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:Billbrpt@AOL.COM" =
title=Billbrpt@AOL.COM>Billbrpt@AOL.COM</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 27, =
2001 7:12
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Piano Firing Missiles =
at Church
Congregation</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>List, =
<BR><BR>Yes, it's
true and I need some opinions on what to do about it. It is a =
<BR>Young
Chang Grand model G-185, only a few years old. It is =
meticulously
<BR>cared for but early in it's service, the pianist at this, shall we =
say,
<BR>"spirit filled" church complained of bass strings breaking and =
shooting
out <BR>of the piano. <BR><BR>I have tried all of the usual. I =
filed the
hammers. A monitor feeds back <BR>sound to the pianist. =
When I
explained to the church directors that it is <BR>the "vigorous" style =
of
playing that sometimes causes strings to break, the <BR>pianist =
resigned.
Things were OK for a while but now there is a young lady <BR>who =
is
firing scuds at the congregation faster than I can get there to =
<BR>collect
them, get them duplicated and replace them. <BR><BR>She is quite upset =
and
beside herself. She refuses to believe that it is the <BR>*way* =
the
piano is played that is causing this. She claims that she has =
<BR>played
the piano "all her life" and has never seen or even heard of this
<BR>happening. The piano has a string cover which she yanks out =
and
throws in <BR>the corner. She also says she has never played a =
piano
with a "blanket" in <BR>it and just "couldn't" play with it in there. =
I
have firmly insisted that at <BR>this point, it is a matter of public =
safety
and won't have any effect on the <BR>sound. <BR><BR>I am thinking that =
these
wound strings must have particularly high tension. <BR>Does =
anyone know
if this is so? Over the years I have heard of other such =
<BR>instances
that were cured by replacing the wound strings with a set of =
<BR>lighter
gauged, "happy" strings. It would seem to me that a lower =
tension
<BR>would solve the problem but in reading the recent post about =
"replacement
<BR>strings", I am confused. Some of these strings have been =
breaking at
the <BR>bass bridge termination point rather than the agraffe. =
That
seems very <BR>unusual to me. <BR><BR>Should the manufacturer supply a =
new set
of wound strings and if so, should <BR>they be a set designed for =
lower
tension? I presume that heavier gauged, <BR>higher tension =
strings
provide a bigger, bolder sound. What effect would <BR>lower =
tension
have? Just as a theoretical question, would tuning the =
<BR>instrument to
a lower pitch, say 100 cents lower prevent this from happening =
<BR>(with the
same gauge but a *new* set of strings)? (I do not view this as =
an
<BR>option, just a possibility that might work in some other =
circumstance).
(I <BR>also would not even consider altering the regulation to
deliberately produce <BR>less power). <BR><BR>It is also interesting =
to note
that to date, only wound strings have broken, <BR>no plain wire. =
<BR><BR>Bill
Bremmer RPT <BR>Madison, Wisconsin</FONT> =
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