•Although some may strongly disagree, I know from firsthand experience that it is not necessary to remove the keybed of an upright player piano just to lay in new strings. In fact, I will go one step further and say that removing the bed is not even desirable. Here's why... The amount of time it tak...

•I was totally blown away by John Tuttle stringing a piano in a customer's home [020325 MMDigest]. I can only say I would doubt that I would ever be able to do that. It would be the extremely _rare_ piano that is in good enough shape to do so. 99.9% of the players I find to work on not only need new...

•D.L. Bullock gave us the worst case scenario of what could happen when stringing a piano in a customer's home. The times I have done this they needed only bass strings, but I've repaired the bass bridges at the same time, and replaced the pins and bushings. It's always been just fine. The point is...

•Richard Moody has the right approach: re-scale. Including half sizes in the scale will smooth out the tension. Baldwin's second lines were Hamilton, and Acrosonic; then Sargent and Monarch. For production reasons let's say "a little expense was spared", even if it were just to save time with freque...

•Monarch is not mentioned by name in the book, "A Guide to Restringing", but Hamilton is, on page 125. When I de-strung a 1929 Monarch I found the scale to be the same, and ditto with an old Howard. If you have this book, note how Baldwin used the same scale on both 54-inch and 45-inch pianos. The B...

•-- forwarded message, please reply to sender and MMD -- I'm currently finishing fixing a 25 notes ...

•The easiest way to determine the stringing scale is to measure each string with a micrometer, take careful notes and replicate the string diameters which were used originally. Many bass string makers have computer software for piano "scaling". Certain information such as string lengths, termination...

•Hervé Hubert from France asked in MMD 090318 about the meaning of some numbers he found in his tympanon and whether these numbers are related to the dimensions of the strings he has to use. I can not answer this question directly but if it would help Hervé to find out the correct dimensions, I sugg...

•A number of piano strings have given away on my Wertheim pianola. I called a number of our piano tuners in Singapore. They _all_ say, "Your piano very old. Cannot do." The do-it-yourself person is a dying breed in my country. I think I am one of the last of this kind, and I am 79 years old. If I co...

Some months ago, I posted an appeal for help in dealing with a basket case reproducing grand that someone else had started and I acquired it without treble strings or scaling documentation. Among those who responded with help and advice was Doug Rhodes from Victoria, BC. It seems that Doug had previ...

•Several people have asked me about how I derived the scale I used in our Foster piano, and why. First, let me say that I would never impose this scale on a high quality piano. But as a pianist, I feel that the "no name" or cheaper pianos can be improved simply by changing the way these piano were s...

•ARGGH!! I just finished reinstalling the harp in a 1928 Monarch upright player piano, installed the bushings and am ready to restring it. Last night, I discovered that my kids trashed the paper on which I had written the stringing scale, and the height of the downbearing bar. Does anybody have a re...

•Larry Mayo wrote: > ARGGH!! I just finished reinstalling the harp in a 1928 Monarch > upright player piano, installed the bushings and am ready to restring > it. Last night, I discovered that my kids trashed the paper on which > I had written the stringing scale, and the height of the downbearing b...

•Hi Larry Boy it is a good thing that I like Baldwin scales!! I was just talking about it the other day! Assuming that is a Baldwin built Monarch, this should be the original scale. According to the book "A Guide to Restringing" by John W. Travis, you should have 60 unisons in the tenor section, and...

•Herschel Mayo wrote in Digest 970822: > ARGGH!! I just finished reinstalling the harp in a 1928 Monarch > upright player piano, installed the bushings and am ready to re-string > it. Last night, I discovered that my kids trashed the paper on which I > had written the stringing scale, and the height...

•In response to Harvey Chao's valid question about vertical pianos and how they retain their tuning. Well-constructed vertical (upright) pianos have several large and heavy reinforcement posts that provide strength and stability to the sound board. A look at the rear of almost any vertical will reve...

•Gang: Thanks to MMD, Jon Page and the piano gods I will soon have an Ampico action to install in my 1914 Chickering. I have refinished the cabinet, rebuilt and adjusted the action, so my question is, should I restring it as well? Being the second owner I am sure they are the original strings. I've ...

•Tim, Generally if the tuning pins are holding, new treble wire won't make a significant difference to justify the expense. New bass strings, however, can really spark up the tone if twisting them does not do enough. Also, this is the time to do it, before the player mechanism goes back in. I strong...

•I always lean toward restringing. In fact, it's a rarity when I don't. A reproducing piano deserves this kind of treatment. New bass strings will give you that big bass you want, and the larger pins throughout will let it last years longer to be enjoyed again after you are long gone. So the reprodu...

•Hi, ref Tim Mattice and his Ampico. Some ten or more years ago, in a fit of piano restoration, Peter Davies and I renewed the bass strings on my 1908 Gotha Steck 65/88 note upright. The old strings were, of course, original and did sound pretty tubby and dull -- not surprising after 70 or 80 years ...