Roger, Too bad on the strings. Chickering scales and bass strings were a lot different than anything I've heard recently, with low inharmonicity which combine nicely with the qualities of straight stringing. Despite removing the plate to recap the bridges, we didn't change any of the strings on ours (I've heard rumors about the bass being silver wound). I'd think that Renner hammers would be way too hard and heavy. We've used Ronsen in the past, although the new Abel sets are light enough they are still quite hard. Chickering boards always seem to be rough, poorly matched and rarely with vertical grain. I'm glad yours has turned out well in the end. regards, Clark
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