[CAUT] Re. Flight of Broken Bass String

[James Ellis]

Jim Harvey is correct about making sure no one is in the line of fire in
case a bass string breaks and becomes a projectile.  Jeff Olson doubts that
a broken bass string will fly out of the piano.  Jeff, many years ago I
doubted that a person could bang on a piano key hard enough and long enough
to break a steel string, but I learned better.  Since then, I have replaced
a bunch of them, and it's the same scenario every time.  I can predict when
and where it's going to happen.  I have also had broken bass strings fly.
On one occasion, I was tuning an old Steinway L in a fairly large church.
The piano was all the way over on one side of the sanctuary.  A bass string
broke, flew out of the piano, over a bunch of pews, and hit the wall on the
opposite side of the sanctuary.  "BANG-swish-SLAM!!.  Just like that.
Fortunately, it hit the wall, and not one of the stained glass windows.  On
another occasion during a revival at a rural church, a bass string of a
small imported grand broke, flew half the length of the sanctuary, and hit
the end of a pew next to the center Aisle.  It can and does happen.  I
never let anyone stand or sit behind a grand piano when I'm tuning it.

Jim Ellis