Dead Bass Strings

[Wippen@aol.com]

Hi all,

We all know that almost anything (pop,beer,oily stuff, silicones,etc) spilled
or deliberatly applied on to bass strings will cause said strings to go dead.
The question I have is, how long will it take for the string(s) to die.

Here is what has happened and it is one for the books.

I have a S&S concert grand here at Marshall that up until yesterday around
6:00 EST was a wonderful instrument. I had just spent several hours on it
last week prepping it for a concert tomorrow night by the Moscow Philharmonic
with Barry Douglas playing Tchaikovsky. The instrument sounded great!.  The
piano was used yesterday between 3 and 4 for a rehearsal. The pianist reports
that the piano fine-then.

Last night at 6:00 there was a Marshall Orchestra rehearsal and that pianist
reports that the bass sounded tubby and dead.

Today at 8:00 I went in the recital hall to tune the thing for Mr. Douglas to
practice on at 10:00.

THE ENTIRE SET OF BASS STRINGS HAS GONE DEAD!

There is obvious evidence of *some* contaminate. It is hard to see on the
bass strings themselves (similar color) but shows up clear as a bell on the
plain wire strings underneath (light brownish specks all over.) There is also
sticky residue on the top of the bass plate strut.  There is nothing showing
on the soundboard. For that matter, there is nothing that can be seen
anywhere else.
I,now ,have to do some detective work to ascertain the who(did it),what(is
this stuff), when(did it happen),where(else did it get to[bridges,tuning
pins]) and why ( the only obvious answer...a sick,cretinous bastard!!)

I'd like to think that I would have noticed before today if the act had been
done in the last few days. But,if it did happen yesterday, it brings me back
to my original question,e.i, how fast can contaminiation kill a bass strings?

Any thoughts? Sympathy?

Paul Dempsey
Marshall University
wippen@aol.com