Wurlitzer piano.

[Paul Chick]

Hey all,

My name is Paul Chick, Jr.  Some of you know my father, Paul Chick, Sr.  He
recently presented at the Dallas convention about "Tuning in 59 minutes".
I've been a careful observer of the list for several months absorbing
information and now have a question that I hope someone can answer.

I'm working on a Wurlitzer piano SN 115191 and measures about 41" high x 40"
wide x 21" deep.  It has 61 notes, 5 octaves, C to C.  The question is:  Is
the first C C1 or C2 as compared to a "normal" piano?  Along with this
question, is this piano "normally" tuned to A440?

Background:  The piano came in and needed some action work and key work
done.  Did that, no problem.  When I went to tune it, I noticed that the
base section was all over the place, anywhere from C1 to C2 in the first 5
or six notes.  Then when I played above the break it seemed to be closer to
a "normal" piano, which, with only 5 octaves, puts the last note at C7.  So,
since everything above the break seemed in relation to each other I tried to
pull the bass up to match.  BANG!!!!!  Broken string and I stopped there.
I'm wondering if it is possible that somebody else didn't have the answer to
the question above and pulled the treble up an octave, which seems not very
likely, or that this piano normally is not tuned to A440, which seems
possible, or the bass strings are supposed to be brought up to the rest of
the piano and there is a really good chance that the rest of the bass
strings are going to break.  Being new to tuning and never breaking a string
before these questions came to mind as I was cleaning out my shorts.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Paul Chick, Jr.
Plainview, MN.