I have been reading with interest this thread on bass strings.  I do
know that European pianos tend to have completely different scaling
than American ones, but all this talk about copper core wires is very
puzzling.  At least the pianos I work with have string tensions that
a copper wire would not hold under, if not break.  Perhaps the core
wire folks are seeing is copper plated steel?  It's either that or
the string tensions are _much_ lower on the pianos over there.

Loosening a base string, so it can be lifted of the bottom pin, and
then coiling it around itself and running that coil up and down the
string (with a piece of wood, not with one's hand or finger), and
vacuuming the wire will oftentimes restore much of the flexibility
of the sting, and improve tone.  I have seen that process do wonders,
I've also seen it only provide a slight improvement.  That could be
because of the lack of downbearing on the bridge.

There are many factors that create a "lively" bass, and downbearing
is an important one.  As the soundboard ages, it sometimes looses much
of its crown.  There are many schemes out there to re-create the
crown ranging from a new sound board to adding wedges to a soundboard
to make it "larger" again.

I will be "watching this space!"

David Dewey
Oroville, California