Lowering pitch for bass bridge repair

[Joseph Garrett]

Steve,
You need not lower the tension of the long bridge. Think about it. All the
plain wire, on the long bridge, are already on, before the bass stings are
put on. The plain wire has tension on it to maintain the coils, etc.
I've been taking bass strings off, for over 30 years, without lowering the
tension of the rest of the piano and have never had a problem.
There is one piano that will cause problems: The Rippen. If you start
lowering the bass strings, the top treble strings will begin to break!!!!
Ask Del about that one. <G> I have only run into one other piano that had
that same problem and it was a weird German upright. The clue is, most
times, if it is a piano w/o back posts and has a full peripheral plate, that
might cause some problems.
Oh, when taking bass strings off of a Yamama GH-1 you will experience a rise
in the general pitch, but it goes right back, after the strings are
re-installed. Reason: No beams on that particular model, (early versions of
the more recent models).
Best Regards,
Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)

Been There, Didn't Like It, So I'm Here To Stay! [G}