Music Trade Review
Issue: 1923 Vol. 77 N. 6 - Page 13
· \I. " ;(',,!,
THE
11 , 1923
MUSI C TRADE
R E VIEW
RESTRINGING THE BASS SECTION OF THE GRAND
-THE TOOLS TO USE AND THE PROPER METHODS
T h e Equ ipmen t N ecessary to Ha ndl e t he J ob Efficientl y- O bta in ing Bass Strin gs L ike the Ol d
Ones-The Proper Way to Tak e Off th e Ol d S tri n gs-A voiding R ust Fro m Perspiration
-Hand lin g t h e N ew S tri n gs- The A c tual S tr ingi n g a nd t h e Met h od of Tunin g
Th ~ ot he r day it happcned that T fo und m y
".e lf confro nt ed w ith the necess ity o f putting
a ne w set of b ass s trin gs o n a ve ry fine gr a nd
pi a no a nd. s in ce I have so often see n ve ry
" llIIll Sy an d awkward work done by tec h ni cians
o n s u c h instruments. es p ecia ll y on g ra nd s, J
s ha ll d esc rib e ju s t how I se t to 'wo rk on th e
job an a th u s. perhaps, do some thin g fo r th ose
who a re not quit e up to dat e on t h e technique
of s t r in g ing.
Ne at s trin gi n g work, in f act, if I m ay say so.
is not exactly th e commone st s ig ht on pi anos
which t(lil c rs and trav e ling tec hnic ia ns hav e re
p,,;re d . a nd I think th a t it will. th erefo re. be
a good idea to ex hau';li ve ly. for there is rpa ll y m u c h 1110rc to it
th an (l icc ts th e eye.
F irst , th e T oo ls
In t h e fir s t pla ce. th e too ls n ce lled c i;; im :.t
tention. T h ese arc T-h rlm mer. s trin g li fter. tlln
in g ha m m e r with s qu a re h ea d, heavy s qu a re·
hea d h',(11nler. Illu s ic cu tt ing p liers. tu ning-pin
p u nc h. tun in g -pi n e ye-h o le p utl ch, \l'o rk g l o\'l~s
an d taicu, n po".. d e r o r s imilar material fo r dust·
ln g o ve r the han ds. T h e T-h a mm e r is a n eces
.
,
Specialists in
Piano Key Repairing
Nearly twenty years of success
as recoverers and repairers of
piano keys is one guarantee our
customers have that our work
will giv e absolute satisfaction.
Another is family pride.
Write for prices.
Y OlJ will find
them satisfactory, too.
JOS. ZIEGLER & SONS
General Key Repairing
Monroeville, O.
HARLEM PIANO & ORGAN KEY CO.
IVOI(Y AND PORCELAIN CEMENT
FOR PIANO HEYS
Th is is a fin e white ivory cold glue .
'W e have spent I S years perfecting it.
Parcel post paid anywhere in U. S. for $ L
121-123 East 126th Street
J'Ojew York. N. Y.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Pi.DO TUDiPI. Pipe aDd Reed Or,,80
aDd PI.yer Pi.DO. Year Book Free.
27 -29 Gainaboro Street
BOSTON, MASS.
s it 0' bcca u ,e one ca nnot do Il ea t work with ou t
it. The: mus ic wire c utt e rs s trou!d be th e be s t
obt ai nable, s uch as Starrett ·s . w lli c h co st $4.50,
but are wor th a ll they cos t and m o r e. Th e
eye-ho le pun c h is lor knockin !! in th e end o f th e
wir e w hich is pu s hed through the eye ·h o le in
ca se it s h o'",s a di s position to jU(1lP o ut whil e
th e w ire is be ing coile d ove r th e pi n.
I a lso u <;(' :;loves on my han ds b eca use it is
b elle r Lo do th at than t o g-et th e wir e rusty.
Th e s te e l wili ru st alw the copp er w i re will di s·
co lor i f p e r s pira t io n"'from the h a nd s is a llow e d
LO co me in co nta c t with it. T alc um powd e r ma y
s ound so nl e what ove r r efine d. but its u sc is e mi
nently practical. If th e h a nd ,;. wh e th e r g lo ves
b e wor n or not . are co n s tant ly dust ed ,.v ith it
da mpn ess or pers piration are effec ti ve ly kep t
dway fr om th e wire. To avo id any co ntact of
th e wir e wit h n,oi s tur c in any s hape is of th e
utmost importanc e.
Th e New Bass S tri n gs
The hr ,t th in g to do . of co ur se. is to obtain
a ~e t of bass s trin g< exacLly lik e th e o ld on es.
If th e pi ano is of le gitimat e m ake and the sc a le
s lill in l' se a lin e to th e ll1 a nuf aCl. urn II ill brin g
a co mp le t e ;;e t to scalc. Bu t if this can not b e
d o n ~ it is necessary eith e r to se nd all the o ld
s trin g s to so me maker of bass s trin gs o r e ls e to
lIl ake a paper pat te rn, .< how in g the tun ing pin s .
th e V-b ea rin g bar. t h e brid g e pin s and th e hitc h
pin s. "\ pi e ce of d raw in g pap er stretched ove r
th e bass sc ale a nd rubb ed at a ll the a bo\'e
named p lace,; wi ll give a first -c la ss pattern;
A lon g with this (]lu s t go ,;;ullpks from t he ('~ .
is tin g st rin gs. i'-o ur s trin gs, or perhaps tw o in
eac h o ctave. can ut' take n Orl, nU'llill'rc
maker.
Fra nk ly . how eve r, I prefer by fa r to have the
old s trin gs tak e n oli e ntire ly a nd used as pat·
terns for th e n ew se t. This pr eve nt s a n y mi s
t ake in th e c hoi ce of corc a.1!d coveri ng wir e.
a mistake which is like ly to o ccur and to err
on the si d e of o verwe ig ht.
Tak ing O ff Old S trings
To tak e o ff tlie s tr i n g~ is ca s y. of co ur se. but
th ere is a ri g ht a nd a w ron g way of d oing thi s.
T he wrong way is to take th e c uttin g - nippCJ" s
a nd go s t ra ig h t 'down the s cale, c uttin g t h e
wir es betw ee n t h e tun ing pi ns a nd the p lat e
b ea rin g. 1 d o 1I 0 t say t h a t ill1Jlled iat e hanll is
a lways to be a ppr e h e nd ed f r olll thi s pr oc ed ur e.
but 1 do say th a t it is a lways ri s ky. Th e s ud·
TUN~K~
13
cl~n re lease of so l11uc h s tr es s from one e nd of
the piate. a re lief which w ill s how its effec ts
a ll over th e e ntir e str u ct lll'!' , might do damage.
It mi g ht el' en ca u se a brcak in th e plate. J ha ve
;;ee n t hi s h appe n and, wh il e I d o not say it wil l
happ e n. T d o :,ay that it m ay happ e n. It is ab
surd to tak e t he ri sk when there is no n ee d to
d o anything of th e k ind.
Aif y meth o d ma y see m o ve rni ce , but h e r e it ,s :
1 t;lke the 'f-l1amm e r and turn down one st rin.!.(
in eac h u ni so n frolll the upp er end dow·nward s .
loosening eac h o ne ju s t e nou g b to take th e ton e
Ollt of it e ntir e ly . A ha lf-t urn on the T-h amme r
is s ufficient. Then I go ove r it again and tnr n
cl own the o th e r s trin g of eac h uni so n. Third ly,
1 t urn dow n th e sin g le strin gs at the lo wer e nd .
Thi s don e I g o o ve r th elll again a nd turn eac h
tunin g pin s uffi cicn tl y t o make it easy to pull
off th e co il without too m uc h wrenchin g. It
po,.-:s ibl e. on e s hould not take th e pin s e ntir e ly
o ut. Takin g th em out loose n s their ho ld. in
n,o-t· ca "es, ouffi cien tly to ma k e it imposs ib le
to put them b ac k secu r e ly \vithout usin g s lee v es
o r SO; Ut· oth e r de vice to cont ra c t a rtifi c ia ll y th e
hol es in th e wrest p lank. When al l th is ha s
U~ ~ 11 pr oper ly d o n e the w ir es J11;t) bc cu t, s o a <;
t o per l11it th e st rin gs to be tak e n away from
th e pia no ent ire ly . Th e n th e pi eccs of wire
\\' hi ch remain around th e pins mus t b e carefu ll y
J'nll ed off. It is advisable t o not e the 111(1llber
of turns o f wi r e aroun d eac h s tring (us ua ll y
thre e) a nd t o se c , furth e r. that the tunin g pin
i, turnecl b;-.c k ju s t as many ti mes a, will per
Il , it it to be turn ed d own aga in sec urel y when
Il ew w ir e is bein g wound 011. If th e pin is
turn ed ba ckwa rds too mu c h it will loo se n liP in
th c h o lr a nd Ihere ''' ay be difficul ty ill ge tting
it back aga in into p lace s ec urely '<0 that it will
n e ith e r s lip nor jump ..
Jn a ll h a ndlin g o L tI, c p in , I:d e um pow der
;;h o uld be free ly us e d o n th e fi n ge r s. for per s pir
;Lli o n d o('s «n ill qll c 'l se a'no u nt of h arm if it
gets o n to p in ;; whi c h ar c la ter dri,' c n into the
II ,'[' s t p l"" I>.
That i;; o ll e of Ih e r easo ns . 100,
,d1,V it is inad visabl e t o withdraw pin s enti r e ly
ii they ('a n b e han dle d an y ot h e r wa y .
(C on tinned on page 14)
How to Repair Damage
to Varnished Surlaces
Jt expla in s 1I 0w rou can effec t a. big saving in
time. hdlOI' and money on all you r repa ir
and IO:I(:h ~ \l1) work.
It ten s how to fix
, a mish.
c ll ~(; k e d
how t o rem or e i mpflnlS a nd
repair marS .md scra tches of ere ry .k ind.
F REE
" H ow to Reoa.ir Dama"e
fA ces"
1l
('on tains
will
interest
(\I..-'nlc r. n m e r.
for .\'our free
much
a.ny
r ('p;li!'
(:0))),
Ya rnbh c
\'3.1ua.lJ l o
information.
phonog ra.ph
ma n
Loday.
or
or
piano
t\nishe r .
Write
WRITE TODAY
If you a rc too hu sy to write n. h:tter. pin
thi ~
ad to yo ur ca rd or lelt.erhead and mai l to us.
Yo n will
f('Cl'hO
<.l.
copy by r eturn m a.iJ .
THE M. L. CAMPBELL CO.
23 28 P e nn St ree t
Kans as Cit y, Mo.
Her e are
Esta/J/isilPd 1901
BASS STRINGS
POLK TUNING SCHOOL
PilJ n ee r sc h oo l of pi a n o, p layer· piano a nd Repr oducing
Pi a no tUlling 'tn d re pairi n g in tJ1t' U nited S ta tes.
Spoelal attention ,IVlR to lbe aMd, .f tlte tufter and the dealer
OTTO R. TREFZ, Jr.
21 J O Fairmo unt A ven u e
P hll a d e l pb l a. Pa.
Complete Courses Taught i n Seve n to Te n W eeks
{tVrite for te r ms aacl literatu,re
POLK B U I LD I NG
VALP ARA I SO. I ND.
The TUNER'S FRIEND
Repair Parts and Tools of
Every Description
Send for New Price.
P .... T
..
~
...
"'O
New ,ty le a ll lea t her brid le . t rap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS ;
Braunsdorl's Other Speclaltlea
Paper,
Felt
...d
Olot b ~
PunehJn••, Fibre W ...b ....
Labor Savina : Mou!, Proof ; Ouarallteed all one lenltl'l
Prt". en ReQues1
F.lt. and C/o/h. In anu Quantl/,..
8end for SamplM.
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc.,
480
and Brtda"I!II for
PI.... 08. Or...... aIld
PlaTer
0111 .,., anti F_oQ' I
IlIrd !!It.. N.... Yerk
Ea..
"'''on8
lRAII: HABlI.
THE
11 , 1923
MUSI C TRADE
R E VIEW
RESTRINGING THE BASS SECTION OF THE GRAND
-THE TOOLS TO USE AND THE PROPER METHODS
T h e Equ ipmen t N ecessary to Ha ndl e t he J ob Efficientl y- O bta in ing Bass Strin gs L ike the Ol d
Ones-The Proper Way to Tak e Off th e Ol d S tri n gs-A voiding R ust Fro m Perspiration
-Hand lin g t h e N ew S tri n gs- The A c tual S tr ingi n g a nd t h e Met h od of Tunin g
Th ~ ot he r day it happcned that T fo und m y
".e lf confro nt ed w ith the necess ity o f putting
a ne w set of b ass s trin gs o n a ve ry fine gr a nd
pi a no a nd. s in ce I have so often see n ve ry
" llIIll Sy an d awkward work done by tec h ni cians
o n s u c h instruments. es p ecia ll y on g ra nd s, J
s ha ll d esc rib e ju s t how I se t to 'wo rk on th e
job an a th u s. perhaps, do some thin g fo r th ose
who a re not quit e up to dat e on t h e technique
of s t r in g ing.
Ne at s trin gi n g work, in f act, if I m ay say so.
is not exactly th e commone st s ig ht on pi anos
which t(lil c rs and trav e ling tec hnic ia ns hav e re
p,,;re d . a nd I think th a t it will. th erefo re. be
a good idea to ex hau';li ve ly. for there is rpa ll y m u c h 1110rc to it
th an (l icc ts th e eye.
F irst , th e T oo ls
In t h e fir s t pla ce. th e too ls n ce lled c i;; im :.t
tention. T h ese arc T-h rlm mer. s trin g li fter. tlln
in g ha m m e r with s qu a re h ea d, heavy s qu a re·
hea d h',(11nler. Illu s ic cu tt ing p liers. tu ning-pin
p u nc h. tun in g -pi n e ye-h o le p utl ch, \l'o rk g l o\'l~s
an d taicu, n po".. d e r o r s imilar material fo r dust·
ln g o ve r the han ds. T h e T-h a mm e r is a n eces
.
,
Specialists in
Piano Key Repairing
Nearly twenty years of success
as recoverers and repairers of
piano keys is one guarantee our
customers have that our work
will giv e absolute satisfaction.
Another is family pride.
Write for prices.
Y OlJ will find
them satisfactory, too.
JOS. ZIEGLER & SONS
General Key Repairing
Monroeville, O.
HARLEM PIANO & ORGAN KEY CO.
IVOI(Y AND PORCELAIN CEMENT
FOR PIANO HEYS
Th is is a fin e white ivory cold glue .
'W e have spent I S years perfecting it.
Parcel post paid anywhere in U. S. for $ L
121-123 East 126th Street
J'Ojew York. N. Y.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Pi.DO TUDiPI. Pipe aDd Reed Or,,80
aDd PI.yer Pi.DO. Year Book Free.
27 -29 Gainaboro Street
BOSTON, MASS.
s it 0' bcca u ,e one ca nnot do Il ea t work with ou t
it. The: mus ic wire c utt e rs s trou!d be th e be s t
obt ai nable, s uch as Starrett ·s . w lli c h co st $4.50,
but are wor th a ll they cos t and m o r e. Th e
eye-ho le pun c h is lor knockin !! in th e end o f th e
wir e w hich is pu s hed through the eye ·h o le in
ca se it s h o'",s a di s position to jU(1lP o ut whil e
th e w ire is be ing coile d ove r th e pi n.
I a lso u <;(' :;loves on my han ds b eca use it is
b elle r Lo do th at than t o g-et th e wir e rusty.
Th e s te e l wili ru st alw the copp er w i re will di s·
co lor i f p e r s pira t io n"'from the h a nd s is a llow e d
LO co me in co nta c t with it. T alc um powd e r ma y
s ound so nl e what ove r r efine d. but its u sc is e mi
nently practical. If th e h a nd ,;. wh e th e r g lo ves
b e wor n or not . are co n s tant ly dust ed ,.v ith it
da mpn ess or pers piration are effec ti ve ly kep t
dway fr om th e wire. To avo id any co ntact of
th e wir e wit h n,oi s tur c in any s hape is of th e
utmost importanc e.
Th e New Bass S tri n gs
The hr ,t th in g to do . of co ur se. is to obtain
a ~e t of bass s trin g< exacLly lik e th e o ld on es.
If th e pi ano is of le gitimat e m ake and the sc a le
s lill in l' se a lin e to th e ll1 a nuf aCl. urn II ill brin g
a co mp le t e ;;e t to scalc. Bu t if this can not b e
d o n ~ it is necessary eith e r to se nd all the o ld
s trin g s to so me maker of bass s trin gs o r e ls e to
lIl ake a paper pat te rn, .< how in g the tun ing pin s .
th e V-b ea rin g bar. t h e brid g e pin s and th e hitc h
pin s. "\ pi e ce of d raw in g pap er stretched ove r
th e bass sc ale a nd rubb ed at a ll the a bo\'e
named p lace,; wi ll give a first -c la ss pattern;
A lon g with this (]lu s t go ,;;ullpks from t he ('~ .
is tin g st rin gs. i'-o ur s trin gs, or perhaps tw o in
eac h o ctave. can ut' take n Orl, nU'llill'rc
maker.
Fra nk ly . how eve r, I prefer by fa r to have the
old s trin gs tak e n oli e ntire ly a nd used as pat·
terns for th e n ew se t. This pr eve nt s a n y mi s
t ake in th e c hoi ce of corc a.1!d coveri ng wir e.
a mistake which is like ly to o ccur and to err
on the si d e of o verwe ig ht.
Tak ing O ff Old S trings
To tak e o ff tlie s tr i n g~ is ca s y. of co ur se. but
th ere is a ri g ht a nd a w ron g way of d oing thi s.
T he wrong way is to take th e c uttin g - nippCJ" s
a nd go s t ra ig h t 'down the s cale, c uttin g t h e
wir es betw ee n t h e tun ing pi ns a nd the p lat e
b ea rin g. 1 d o 1I 0 t say t h a t ill1Jlled iat e hanll is
a lways to be a ppr e h e nd ed f r olll thi s pr oc ed ur e.
but 1 do say th a t it is a lways ri s ky. Th e s ud·
TUN~K~
13
cl~n re lease of so l11uc h s tr es s from one e nd of
the piate. a re lief which w ill s how its effec ts
a ll over th e e ntir e str u ct lll'!' , might do damage.
It mi g ht el' en ca u se a brcak in th e plate. J ha ve
;;ee n t hi s h appe n and, wh il e I d o not say it wil l
happ e n. T d o :,ay that it m ay happ e n. It is ab
surd to tak e t he ri sk when there is no n ee d to
d o anything of th e k ind.
Aif y meth o d ma y see m o ve rni ce , but h e r e it ,s :
1 t;lke the 'f-l1amm e r and turn down one st rin.!.(
in eac h u ni so n frolll the upp er end dow·nward s .
loosening eac h o ne ju s t e nou g b to take th e ton e
Ollt of it e ntir e ly . A ha lf-t urn on the T-h amme r
is s ufficient. Then I go ove r it again and tnr n
cl own the o th e r s trin g of eac h uni so n. Third ly,
1 t urn dow n th e sin g le strin gs at the lo wer e nd .
Thi s don e I g o o ve r th elll again a nd turn eac h
tunin g pin s uffi cicn tl y t o make it easy to pull
off th e co il without too m uc h wrenchin g. It
po,.-:s ibl e. on e s hould not take th e pin s e ntir e ly
o ut. Takin g th em out loose n s their ho ld. in
n,o-t· ca "es, ouffi cien tly to ma k e it imposs ib le
to put them b ac k secu r e ly \vithout usin g s lee v es
o r SO; Ut· oth e r de vice to cont ra c t a rtifi c ia ll y th e
hol es in th e wrest p lank. When al l th is ha s
U~ ~ 11 pr oper ly d o n e the w ir es J11;t) bc cu t, s o a <;
t o per l11it th e st rin gs to be tak e n away from
th e pia no ent ire ly . Th e n th e pi eccs of wire
\\' hi ch remain around th e pins mus t b e carefu ll y
J'nll ed off. It is advisable t o not e the 111(1llber
of turns o f wi r e aroun d eac h s tring (us ua ll y
thre e) a nd t o se c , furth e r. that the tunin g pin
i, turnecl b;-.c k ju s t as many ti mes a, will per
Il , it it to be turn ed d own aga in sec urel y when
Il ew w ir e is bein g wound 011. If th e pin is
turn ed ba ckwa rds too mu c h it will loo se n liP in
th c h o lr a nd Ihere ''' ay be difficul ty ill ge tting
it back aga in into p lace s ec urely '<0 that it will
n e ith e r s lip nor jump ..
Jn a ll h a ndlin g o L tI, c p in , I:d e um pow der
;;h o uld be free ly us e d o n th e fi n ge r s. for per s pir
;Lli o n d o('s «n ill qll c 'l se a'no u nt of h arm if it
gets o n to p in ;; whi c h ar c la ter dri,' c n into the
II ,'[' s t p l"" I>.
That i;; o ll e of Ih e r easo ns . 100,
,d1,V it is inad visabl e t o withdraw pin s enti r e ly
ii they ('a n b e han dle d an y ot h e r wa y .
(C on tinned on page 14)
How to Repair Damage
to Varnished Surlaces
Jt expla in s 1I 0w rou can effec t a. big saving in
time. hdlOI' and money on all you r repa ir
and IO:I(:h ~ \l1) work.
It ten s how to fix
, a mish.
c ll ~(; k e d
how t o rem or e i mpflnlS a nd
repair marS .md scra tches of ere ry .k ind.
F REE
" H ow to Reoa.ir Dama"e
fA ces"
1l
('on tains
will
interest
(\I..-'nlc r. n m e r.
for .\'our free
much
a.ny
r ('p;li!'
(:0))),
Ya rnbh c
\'3.1ua.lJ l o
information.
phonog ra.ph
ma n
Loday.
or
or
piano
t\nishe r .
Write
WRITE TODAY
If you a rc too hu sy to write n. h:tter. pin
thi ~
ad to yo ur ca rd or lelt.erhead and mai l to us.
Yo n will
f('Cl'hO
<.l.
copy by r eturn m a.iJ .
THE M. L. CAMPBELL CO.
23 28 P e nn St ree t
Kans as Cit y, Mo.
Her e are
Esta/J/isilPd 1901
BASS STRINGS
POLK TUNING SCHOOL
PilJ n ee r sc h oo l of pi a n o, p layer· piano a nd Repr oducing
Pi a no tUlling 'tn d re pairi n g in tJ1t' U nited S ta tes.
Spoelal attention ,IVlR to lbe aMd, .f tlte tufter and the dealer
OTTO R. TREFZ, Jr.
21 J O Fairmo unt A ven u e
P hll a d e l pb l a. Pa.
Complete Courses Taught i n Seve n to Te n W eeks
{tVrite for te r ms aacl literatu,re
POLK B U I LD I NG
VALP ARA I SO. I ND.
The TUNER'S FRIEND
Repair Parts and Tools of
Every Description
Send for New Price.
P .... T
..
~
...
"'O
New ,ty le a ll lea t her brid le . t rap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS ;
Braunsdorl's Other Speclaltlea
Paper,
Felt
...d
Olot b ~
PunehJn••, Fibre W ...b ....
Labor Savina : Mou!, Proof ; Ouarallteed all one lenltl'l
Prt". en ReQues1
F.lt. and C/o/h. In anu Quantl/,..
8end for SamplM.
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Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).