Another reason to have your piano tuned annually

Mice!!!

If you've ever had to deal with these pests you know how destructive they can be. What you may not know is that a piano is a great and safe place for them to hide.

Unfortunately it's not so great on your instrument. If left undisturbed for any length of time you will soon be over run and your once fine instrument might just need hundreds or thousands of dollars in repairs.

How do you know if you've had mice in your piano?

1. Smell - if you have ever had mice there is a distinct smell.
2. Droppings/feces - open the top of the piano and visually inspect the top of the keys and open the bottom panel to inspect. The droppings are generally small pellets about 1/16 of an inch around and less than 1/4 in length.
3. Staining of the key stick - as the mice traverse around the interior of the piano they will leave subtle staining. Looks for a "path". These are darker areas where the body of the mouse has rubbed repeatedly against the keys.
4. Gnawing evidence - look at the key stick and see if the edges are crisp or if they appear to have damage. The pictures show subtle rounding of the keystick. Additionally if you were to manually move the hammer forward the bridle strap should pull on the whippen lifting it up. Mice often eat through the bridle strap first. This material will be used in the nest.

To clean:

You have 2 options here -

1. Remove the keys from the piano and vacuum the debris out of the piano.
a. Mark the keys as you remove them so that if they get out of order you can replace them in the proper places.
b. Then repair any damage.

I suggest wiping down all keys with a mild beach solution as well as under the keys being careful to not contact the keypins.

2. Have a qualified technician clean up the mess. Some technicians charge an exorbitant fee to clean up after rodents. I've seen quotes for over $500.

There is some possibility of contracting certain diseases during this cleanup. I always recommend wearing rubber gloves and a dust mask or respirator when cleaning and vacuuming a piano. I would suggest you take this precaution at a minimum, and if your are immuno-compromised I would suggest having the work done for you rather than tackle it yourself.

If caught early, mice will do very little damage, so at a minimum have your piano tuned once per year and it will be opened up. Most technicians who are paying attention will notice the evidence of mice and notify you.


The two pictures below show evidence of gnawing. Notice the top edges of the keys at the 'V' gap are rounded

A String Broke, can it be repaired?

Quick Answer:  Yes! The string can be replaced and sometimes repaired

Quirk Answer:  Nope, sorry, you need to replace the instrument with a new one, or spend thousands of dollars replacing all of the strings.

Long Answer:  Of course the string can always be replaced independent of the other intact strings.  There are several criteria I suggest using to evaluate whether it is advisable to repair the string or replace it, or suggest more intensive service.

• Where is the string broken?
• If broken at the tuning pin it is possible to tie(yes we make a special knot) a leader string to the original string.  The key to this working is whether the knot can be positioned in such a way that when tension is applied to the string the knot will tighten and be outside of the speaking length of the wire.  The speaking length of wire is where the string vibrates.
• How old is the piano?
• As a piano ages the strings will loose some of their elasticity and be more prone to breakage.
• Typically pianos over 80 years old may not benefit from repair or replacement.
• What condition are the strings?
• Strings that exhibit signs of rust or other corrosion are weakened and prone to failure.
• Where is the pitch of the piano prior to service?
• Pianos that are significantly low in pitch may experience a number of string breakages in the process of bringing the piano to proper pitch and I have not found the gradually increasing the pitch over several appointments will prevent breakage of strings.
• Is there evidence of other strings having been broken in the past?
• Look at the strings, if there are strings that are more shiny than their neighbors, those are replacements. If there are more than a few, your piano might be better served with a complete restringing or replacement with a newer instrument.
• Older string repairs are more difficult to see, I always will inspect the string as it wraps around the tuning pin.  Unless the technician is meticulous in their copying the original manufacturers stringing, you will likely see evidence at or near the tuning pin.
• Is the broken string a bass string or other string with copper wound around a steel core wire?
• I rarely will tie this type of string, I have in the past but I believe the result is less than perfect. I generally will send the string back for duplication to achieve the best sounding string that matches the original as closely as possible, I do not like to use "Universal" strings (more on that later)

I advise my clients that all broken strings should be replaced, but that due to the nature of new string the pitch of the replacement will drop significantly faster than the rest of the strings in the piano.  To combat this I will tune the pitch of the new string high and then insert a mute (when possible) to stop the new string from vibrating.  This allows the customer to enjoy the instrument without the need to a repeat visit after less than a month.  When the piano is serviced again, I remove the mute and listen.  If the pitch is close I will leave the mute out and be satisfied the new string is staying close to pitch. If however the pitch has dropped significantly, I again tune the new string sharp and mute it again.  When the pitch is stable, the mute is removed permanently.

On occasion a client may decline the replacement of a string due strictly to financial reasons, I understand that the added expense may not be in the budget, but advise that they may be allowing for greater damage to the mechanical workings on the note(s) with missing strings.  This damage would, in a normal home, take place gradually over several years and that the customer has some time to decide. I generally do not charge for the plain string itself when making a single string repair, but do charge for the labor and labor cost of each visit if the only service is tuning the replacement string.

This brings me to bass strings.  Because bass strings are either a single or double string per note, I prefer to replace the string as soon as possible, when you lose a string on a single string unison you will play the note but will have no sound, and on a two string unison when you play the note with a string missing you will experience a reduction of about 50% in volume.

I mention above that I do not like "Universal" strings. These are strings that are generic which allow a technician in the field to replaced the string broken by trimming the copper winding to the proper length and fitting it in the piano.  I find that even when I am using the original string as my template the sound of the universal string doesn't match the original intact string creating a note that doesn't sound as good as it should.  I prefer to take the original string and ship it to a string maker who will duplicate the original.  This duplication is a bit more expensive but for the quality of the sound it produces, worth the price.

If your piano has had numerous strings broken, it might be worthwhile asking for an estimate on replacing all of the strings.  It is generally not cost effective to make this repair on old uprights, consoles or spinets.  If however you are attached to the instrument and have the funds to make the repair ask for references of the technicians clients whose pianos for which he has done similar work. Complete string replacement is generally over $1000 and can be several thousand depending on the hourly rate, quality of materials, other repairs that might be necessary for the best quality repair (pinblock/wrestplank replacement).

 

I Need Some Piano Wire (or) A string broke and it needs to be replaced

Quick Answer:  Call a qualified technician to have it replaced.
Quirk Answer:  Get some bailing wire and a crescent wrench or square tipped socket wrench and expect to need to follow the advise of the quick answer plus a few hundred dollars to correct your mistake. (I don't believe this is a valid user repair, a technician is the best route on this one)

Long Answer:  This, for me, is one of the most frustrating things customers ask for, it is rare, but it happens and often if I am not provided a sample string the customer gets the wrong size wire.

Scenario: Customer calls and wants to repair their own string (not advisable but it happens), or they are calling to have the string ready but do not want to use my services.

How to order piano wire:

With a micrometer measuring in the thousandths of an inch measure the diameter of the wire in any straight section (micrometer prices range from $30 - $250 or  more).

What is a micrometer?

Micrometer

Micrometer 0 reading

Micrometer 0.210"

How piano technicians measure and/or order string:

Piano Strings are usually ordered by a "gauge" number and weight. This number is often marked on the bridge of modern pianos (Asian Pianos: Kawai, Yamaha, Young Chang, etc) or in the tuning pin area (Steinway & Sons).  If your piano has these numbers, Fantastic!!

Look at the bridge or tuning pin section on key number 88 (your highest note), if there is a number printed in either of these locations on the highest strings this means this is the start of the section of this particular gauge of wire. The piano was likely strung right to left (highest to lowest)

If however you have to look 4-6 notes down (12-18 strings) to find the printed number then key 88 is the last string of that section. This piano was likely strung left to right (lowest plain string to highest)

Where this number is located is extremely important in determining the proper size of wire for replacement.

Right to Left Stringing:  Look to the right of your missing string, the first printed string size is the correct wire gauge

Left to Right Stringing:  Look to the left of the missing string, the first printed string size is the correct wire gauge.

Unknown String Gauge:  Using a micrometer measure the diameter of the wire (remember thousandths of an inch) - Count the number of hashes (my micrometer is 0.025" per hash mark as the barrel hashes go to 24 before rolling back to 0). Measure the wire in a few different places to be sure you get the most accurate measurement.

The measurement you will get for modern piano wire will be no less than 0.029"
To figure the wire gauge you need to order: Subtract from 29 the number 5. Now divide by 2.

29 - 5 = 24 / 2 = 12

You will need to ask for 12 gauge wire.  The largest plain steel piano wire I have seen in a piano is 22 gauge. Calculating in reverse: 

22 x 2 = 44 + 5 = 49

micrometer will read 0.049"

If your number falls below the 0.029" mark you either are measuring incorrectly or have something other than piano wire you're needing to replace, guitar strings are significantly thinner than piano strings and might be suitable for your needs. Piano gauges are sizes by halves, so 12, 12.5(or 12 1/2), 13, 13.5, etc.

A technician usually orders plain steel piano wire by the 1 pound or 5 pound roll.  I carry in my kit a case with the normal 1 pound rolls of each wire gauge needed in pianos and use these when strings break.  In the shop that performs numerous piano restringing jobs a year you will find 5 pound or heavier spools of wire for each size.

Ordering (gauge + length):  When asking to order string for single replacement ask for the gauge and length of wire plus at least 1 foot of extra wire. Measure the total length of the string you need then add 1 foot or if you need to guess, measure from the tuning pin to the hitch pin (this is the point on the plate the the wire is looped around) then double that measurement and add 1 foot. 

Why do I need the correct wire? During a routine service call I had customer with a Bosendorfer grand where one string had been broken and replaced... inspect the pictures below and see if you can discern the problem:

One of these is not like the other	Look closely at the knots	Look Closer - Which is Different

In the first picture it is the right string of the 4th group of wires.  In the second picture you will notice the "tail" of the knot is pointing the wrong direction.  In the third picture you will see a close up of the knot and string.

Other than the mistakes you see with the knot, do you notice anything else that is different?  As a practicing technician the mistake caught my eye almost immediately and it is a problem I have seen before and the point of this article...

The technician who replaced the wire did not measure it for diameter! The string diameter is thin enough that without a physical measurement I can visually see the difference, look particularly how the string wraps around itself as compared to the original knots.

How does a competent honest technician approach the customer with a mistake like this?  I informed the customer and showed them what was wrong and why and that if they were unhappy with the quality of the sound or the stability of the note they should contact me regarding a replacement string with the proper diameter and tied in the same manner as the original strings.

Why is the diameter important?  All piano strings are set to a certain pitch. Strings of different diameters will hold the tension differently based on their diameter.  A thin string tuned to the same pitch as a thicker string will resonate differently.  I would suggest that the quality of the sound is much like the sound of a "false" string, or a string that has an audible beat-rate when played individually.

This sounds to be a string that will not be in tune when the pitches when listened to individually are correct, but when set in motion with the other regular sized strings has an audible beat-rate as though it is out of tune.

When two strings of nearly identical length but of differing diameters are tuned to the same pitch their tension will be different which will directly affect the harmonic overtones the strings produce and cause the sound to be less than ideal.  Aural piano tuners will hear this "inharmonicity" quite quickly.  Hopefully my machine tuning colleagues do as well.

This article pertains only to plain steel strings, it doesn't consider the complexities of bass strings or other strings wound with copper.  This will be addressed at another time...