The discussion on hammers for reproducing grands has been informative.
I'd like to shift the topic to replacing the bass strings.  I suspect
the opinions will be more diverse on this subject.

When I had my Steinway AR Duo-Art rebuilt I asked my piano technician
to use Ari Isaac's bass strings.  I had heard them on a 5'8" reproducing
piano and really liked their _big_ sound.  We sent the original strings
to him to duplicate and I was not disappointed with the results.  To me
my AR sounds like a much bigger piano, with deep rich bass.  (I decided
on Steinway hammers for this piano because they were more mellow than
the other samples we tried.)

The technician who evaluated my Mason also listened to the Steinway.
He thought the bass strings were sounding a bit tubby after 20+ years
but his frame of reference is the current desire for a brighter sound,
even in the bass.

These days there are several suppliers of quality bass strings.  My
inclination is to stick with the Isaac strings for the 5' 8" Mason but
I'd like to hear from others on the Forum.

So let's dive into this hornet's nest and get some feedback from those
of you who have replaced bass strings in the past five years.  What
were you trying to achieve, what did you use and how do you like them?
(The brand and model of hammer used is probably helpful to know as
well.)

Larry Kerecman