Breaking Strings

[Farrell]

One good method is to shorten the blow in the troublesome area and decrease 
keydip accordingly. This serves to depower the action. If you decrease blow 
significantly, then taper the change over a few notes in the tenor. I've 
done this on several lounge pianos (Yamaha C3s) that were breaking bass 
strings - it has worked very well.

On an upright, you can simpy decrease key dip, add felt/cloth to the 
backrail cloth to make it thicker in the bass and then adjust lost motion.

And keep them hammers shaped!

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
> I've got a customer (a theater) whose has their Yamaha P22 tuned weekly 
> for a
> long running show. Over the last 9 months or so, bass strings have been
> breaking with increasing frequency; it's to the point now that I've 
> replaced 5
> bass strings in as many weeks. As many as 15 or 20 have broken so far.
>
> It seems to me that the cause is hard hammers. The piano has always been
> bright, but is a little more so than it used to be (this is a little hard 
> to
> gauge, since I see the change slowly over the course of a few years). 
> There are
> definitely deep grooves... I convinced the management to let me reshape 
> the
> hammers once - the string breakage slowed for a while, and then increased
> again. The piano is played pretty hard, seven or eight shows a week.
>
> Am I on the right track, or are there other causes for this type of 
> problem?
> Besides needing regulation, the piano is in good shape (no environmental 
> or
> humidity issues, etc.).
>
> I'm guessing that I need to convince the managemnet to A) let me do more 
> work
> on the hammers, B) let me replace the hammers w/ new ones, or C) continue 
> to
> pay for string replacements and muck up my schedule on a weekly basis (and 
> it's
> two strings every time they break one - I put on a universal, then follow 
> up
> with a duplicate when it comes in... thought about tying knots, but the 
> strings
> are breaking right at the end of the winding, mostly - knot much room).
>
> Thanks in advance for thoughts, pointers, sympathy(?)....
>
> Mike Byrley
> Chicago, IL