bass to treble break problem

[Ted Simmons]

This from Les Smith:
>Gee, Ted, "thunk" is kind of a vague term and you didn't tell us the age
>or brand of piano, or even whether the string is wound or not, but a couple
>of things immediately come to mind. On some of the junkier modern verticals
>the first few strings above the bass break are wound with steel instead of
>copper. They sound bad even when new and just get worse as time goes by,
>while the copper-wound bass string still sound good. You could try re-
>placing those steel-wound strings, if present, but replacing the entire
>piano is probably a better idea. The owner probably won't go for that one,
>however! The other thing you might want to check is the damper. Perhaps
>it's not fully clearing the string because it's lifting too late, or be-
>cvause it starting to come unglued. Sometimes a damper will LOOK like it's
>lifting OK from the top, but when you remove the block you discover that
>it unglued on the bottom, not lifting properly, and still touching the
>string. Lastly, since this is the first string on the treble bridge, check
>the bridge, too. Occasionally debris can get caught between the string and
>the notch in the bridge in an upright piano and affect the tone of the
>string involved. I've seen it happen, so it's worth checking out.
>
>Les Smith
>lessmith@buffnet.net

Les, I guess "thunk" is not the proper description.  How about "tuned
thunk". The note gives out the proper tone but doesn't carry like the
others. It has a very short duration on sustain. The pianos in question
have copper wound bichords in the first treble bridge note.  My own piano
has this characteristic and I've practically torn it apart trying to
correct the problem.  The damper is not at fault. New strings didn't
correct the problem.  I called the manufacturer  and the tech rep said that
was an inherent problem in many consoles and spinets. I think David
Sanderson has the answer (see his post earlier).  I hope I've answered all
your questions.  Thanks for your response Les.

   Ted Simmons