<html> <body> Terry, I don't think the rusty strings would be more stretchy, but since they were so low in pitch and since (apparently) the piano has not been tuned for a long time, the bends in the wire are very unstable.  Besides the structure on this model being fairly flexible (meaning it may react to the pitch change more than some), the strings will take some seating work and/or some time and use to settle down and stay in tune well. I think you did the right thing by raising it to pitch.  I would probably have told the customer that the piano needs restringing, then raised the pitch normally and busted as many strings as were going to bust, then replace broken strings and charged the customer accordingly.  It is likely that your gentle treatment in the overpull is contributing to the current pitch drop. If you are too gentle on these strings, then the weak ones will keep popping, with the resulting instability in the piano possibly making the owner think you didn't do something right.  I would prefer to get all the weak strings replaced, settle the new strings as much as possible and schedule the follow-up tuning so that the owner understands that the piano will be very instable for a while. After restringing, sell them a string cover and Dampp-Chaser setup.  I had good luck with these - except when the owner left the cover off and the DC unplugged, of course.  I replaced the strings in one piano 3 times over a period of 8 years in San Diego.  It was in a large mostly glass room facing the waves, maybe 50 feet from the water.  Every time I came to tune the string cover was off and the DCs were unplugged. Your GH-1 owner will very likely just drop back into neglecting the piano in the same way.  Great opportunity! If you want, you can suggest that they buy a new piano every 5 years. <g> Don Mannino At 08:34 PM 10/21/2003, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Mr. A440-or-die posting here:   I serviced a 15-or-so year old Yamaha GH1 this evening. Lady lives right on a salt water canal and leaves all windows and doors open 24/7 for about ten months out of the year here in west-central Florida.   Piano was a little rusty (never seen a piano more rusty that this one!).   Pitch was 25 to 50 cents flat and three strings were broke. Raised pitch to A441. Popped a half-dozen strings. After replacing strings the piano was up to 20 cents flat in some areas. Raised pitch again to A441. Popped a couple more strings. After replacing those, several areas of scale were five to ten cents flat. Started bringing those areas up, popped a couple more strings and then had to tell the owner that no way was this piano going up to standard pitch by me (sure glad the two bass strings that shot across the room missed that glass-fronted china cabinet).   This piano has set a new rusty-string standard for me. I'll be going back there to fine (?) tune the piano in a week or two - at whatever pitch the piano settles at (my expectation is that it will be somewhere below A440). But my question is could these strings be so weak that they stretch much more than usual - kind of like a stretch right before it breaks? It seems that when you bring a string up to standard pitch, it stretches and settles at a lower pitch. Any other piano I have ever pitch-raised pretty well stays where I put it - but not this one. I've never seen anything like it.   When removing a few of the old rusty broken strings, I would grab the string with a pair of pliers to yank it out - and the sting broke again - I've never before broke a piece of piano wire by just tugging on it!   I told lady it is time to restring. Maybe that PureSound stainless steel wire would be of benefit in this piano. The owner did tell my that she is not changing her lifestyle for her piano, and that she is going to keep that piano until she dies (I'd say she was 40s-ish and pleasingly healthy, so that may be a while!).   Terry Farrell</blockquote></body> </html>