Should I feel bad (busted strings)?

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Glenn wrote:
> 
> I was called to tune a Shuman spinet.  The owner inherited it and didn't
> think it was tuned for at least 15 years.  Came to find out it hadn't been
> tuned or serviced since 1975!
> 
> It was 100.6 cents flat.  I decided to pitch raise it to plus 20 cents.  I
> knew it needed to go higher but I didn't think it wise.  I broke three
> strings on the pitch raise and a fourth while changing one of the others.
> All of the stings were past the last break on the top third of the piano.
> The strings looked original and some had already been replaced (the ones I
> didn't break!).  I felt so bad that I split the cost of the 3 string
> replacement with the client and told him the 4th was on me.

Bearing in mind that the Shuman spinet was not exactly God's gift to the
piano world, there is probably at least one more reason why the strings
might have a propensity to break in the treble section. With many of
these "pianos" precision of assembly was only a dream of the founder. In
real life production was pushed so hard that things like locating
bridges became kind of an iffy thing. It's entirely possible that the
bridge is located a bit far down on the soundboard. This would increase
the speaking length of the string, which also increases the string
tension. I've measured several pianos with this problem over the years
and found the string tensions to be up around 75% to 85% of their
breaking strength with the piano at normal pitch. Obviously, this goes a
bit higher if the piano is pulled above pitch as in a pitch raising.
Now, age the string a bit, add in some rust and corrosion, and you have
a string just waiting to break. Check the speaking length of C-88. If
its longer than 55 mm, be careful, you have a problem waiting to happen.


> My mentor told me (since it was 100 cents flat) that I should have first
> brought it up to pitch, then a pitch raise, then a fine tuning.  I
> exclaimed "but that's THREE tunings" to which he said YES.  It is hard
> enough to explain and sell a pitch raise let alone a third tuning!

Among other things, you might try to not to think of it in terms of
"three tunings." Instead try thinking of it as exchanging "X amount of
time" for "X amount of money." Then do the most work you can do in X
amount of time and charge accordingly. 

I think that with that piano in that condition, trying to get it up to
pitch in one sitting might have been a bit much to expect.

ddf