[CAUT] Mapes single bass string...

[Alan Crane]

I'm frustrated (and its past quitting time on a Monday...)...

Here at WSU, we have an 1898 Steinway grand in one of the practice rooms.
Recently, a bass single-string decided to break at the speaking-side 
bridge pin (of all places!).

I'd been ordering replacement strings from Arledge and was very 
pleased with the results (albeit at $30 or so per string incl. shipping).
I decided to order this one from Mapes and, rather than trusting them 
to have a scale stick for something that old, I phoned in the 
measurements I'd taken with my Arledge tape measure and micrometer:

Hitch to speaking bridge pin:   138mm           what I got back 
was:    135mm to the beginning of the wrap!
Hitch to agraffe:               1341mm  what I got back 
was     1474mm to the end of the winding!

Well, I looked at the flyer that came with the string they sent and 
noticed that Mapes wants different measurements than Arledge...
no surprise except that they never said anything on the phone when I 
gave them the measurements the first time so I just assumed that they 
were comfortable with that data format.

Instead of asking that they make another string gratis, I just phoned 
in another order for the same string but, this time, gave the 
measurements they requested in their flyer:

Hitch to winding:               5 3/4 inches    what I got back 
was     5 1/4 inches  (which doesn't quite clear the bridge pin)
Length of winding:              45 5/8 
inches           "               40 3/4 inches  (hitch to end of 
winding was 46 1/8 inches)
** also, this time the core dia. had dropped from .049" to .047"
         and the outer wrap O.D. (which on the first replacement was 
the correct .178") was anywhere from .055" to .064" along the length 
of the winding.

I know some of you out there have no problems ordering from Mapes and 
I'd like to patronize them now & then too.
Their turn-around time is very short... (I'd like to say I like their 
strings too but I haven't been able to install one yet...).
I just need to know what I'm doing wrong here.
Any hints??



Regards,

Alan B. Crane,  RPT
School of Music
Wichita State University
alan.crane@wichita.edu