Thanks for this one! In most of the literature I’ve read about string levelling it’s not recommended to lower the strings, only to raise them. You say some pianos are ok to lower strings on. How do you decide to lower/raise in a particular instrument?
Hi Gavin. Good question. My usual protocol is to try and lift the low strings first, and try that maybe twice, then I’ll lower them simply when lifting doesn’t work well. Truthfully, if I’m in a hurry I’ll lower one string instead of lifting two. It works either way, but the most important thing is that the hammer is mated. In my spectrum studies years ago it didn’t matter if I lifted or lowered, but as long as they are mated, that’s most important.
Do you ever encounter strings that really don’t want to lift? I’ve given up on more than I care to mention and just mated the hammers to the strings. I know this is the most important thing at the end of the day but how far do you go? Have you pulled an agraffe out, broken a string, caused false beats by pulling too hard? Appreciate your time to answer!
Nice and easy to follow
Thanks for this one! In most of the literature I’ve read about string levelling it’s not recommended to lower the strings, only to raise them. You say some pianos are ok to lower strings on. How do you decide to lower/raise in a particular instrument?
Hi Gavin. Good question. My usual protocol is to try and lift the low strings first, and try that maybe twice, then I’ll lower them simply when lifting doesn’t work well. Truthfully, if I’m in a hurry I’ll lower one string instead of lifting two. It works either way, but the most important thing is that the hammer is mated. In my spectrum studies years ago it didn’t matter if I lifted or lowered, but as long as they are mated, that’s most important.
Do you ever encounter strings that really don’t want to lift? I’ve given up on more than I care to mention and just mated the hammers to the strings. I know this is the most important thing at the end of the day but how far do you go? Have you pulled an agraffe out, broken a string, caused false beats by pulling too hard? Appreciate your time to answer!