Bass strings

[D.L. Bullock]

I once had an apprentice who installed a set of bass strings and there were
several that sounded incredibly bad, tinny, and buzzy.  I checked the side
the tied loops were kicked up on against the hitch pins and discovered that
the bad ones were cocked up backwards to those that sounded good.  I took
one loose and showed him that the bad sounds were caused by the strings
being twisted the wrong direction.  The winding should be twisted to be
tightening it.  The twist goes in the direction the end of the winding is
pointing.  They must all be twisted the same direction and the same amount.

Our shop uses three twists.  It gives the best sound and I am leery of 4 or
more for fear of breakage of the string or the loop.  I would be interested
in whether anyone uses more than that and what is the result.

D.L. Bullock
www.thepianoworld.com
St. Louis