Hi Josiah, though this is rare, it does happen. Those bass strings were most likely faulty from the factory. The tensile strength on the wires were compromised, so probably more may break in the future. A few years ago I replaced 10 bass strings in a Yamaha U1, customer had no idea why they were all broken. Take note of where they broke as well. Usually you'll find that they break right at the front scale bearing point.
Thank you so much @NickHollis21! I can always count on the piano tuner community 😊 They did end up breaking right at the front scale bearing, so that’s probably what it was. Thanks!
Jesus is the only way. We have all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins that may seem small in our eyes are big in God's and are worthy of Hell, such as lying lusting and stealing. But if we repent and trust only in Jesus, he is faithful and will save us from Hell and give us eternal life in Heaven. Trust in Jesus! John 3:16 Romans 6:23❤❤❤
It's scary for pianos because of the amount of force. Also with pianos you have to tune the new strings multiple times before they'll stay in tune. Stressful but putting on news strings definitely pays well
Good evening, thank you for the video! If you don't mind, I"ll give a little advice on changing bass strings. I know that you're not asking advice and don't want to seem imdudent. So, first of all, I tend to change the pin, while changing a string, or I use smth to make it sit more tightly. And I always make about 2.5 rings on the pin, while it's in my hands. The most important part is - the masters who make new strings always say to twist a string one whole turn or half-turn following the direction of the string wire. What it does - it tightens the wire, so the string sounds better, it could be rumbly, if not done. And sometimes a new string can even ring badly, which can be managed by that operation. Also, it is important to bend the string properly, because otherwise you can be in a situation where you start to tune a string, make a little turn - and nothing happens. Then you make another one - and again nothing happens. And then, suddenly, it's like half-tone higher, then it should be with an unpleasant "cling". It's because of sometimes not proper string bending. I hope this makes sense, 'cause english is not my native language and I don't really know the terminology. Wish you good luck with your work! P.s. I really recommend you to watch the RU-vid channel called "Der Klaviermacher". Unfortunately, the author is not with us, and I started to watch his videos after he passed away. His job inspired me to delve deeper into piano repairs and restoring, maybe it will help you too. His job with strings was precise.
Jesus is the only way. We have all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins that may seem small in our eyes are big in God's and are worthy of Hell, such as lying lusting and stealing. But if we repent and trust only in Jesus, he is faithful and will save us from Hell and give us eternal life in Heaven. Trust in Jesus! John 3:16 Romans 6:23❤😊😊😊
Hello!! Your videos are absolutely incredible! I just can't get enough of them, they always bring a smile to my face. Just wanted to let you know that I'm a huge fan and I always look forward to your next upload. Keep up the AMAZING content and have a wonderful day! 🎹 😊 ( don't worry, I am subbed! )
I'm really impressed by and support RU-vidrs that do pro bono work in exchange for monetized videos.Where does one learn to repair pianos? Is there a school for it?
The Everett console that the strings were replaced in was actually a respectable piano. As long as the bridges, soundboard, pinblock and action are still in good enough condition, the piano should be able to last a while longer. It might be a good idea in time for the customer to trade up to a large and better quality piano in time.
I had so many strings break in my old piano (a Baldwin Acrosonic from the ‘40s), and our tuner had “the talk” with us about potentially re-stringing the whole bass section or the entire instrument. We decided to look for a different piano after learning it would cost about the same. My piano teacher had just shown my mom and me a beautiful piano that was for sale nearby, and I had been baffled by its bizarre pedal arrangement. We decided to give it a look, and ended up buying it the day before it would’ve gone into a storage unit for the foreseeable future. The movers who would’ve taken it to the unit took it to our house instead, and hauled away the old piano. And that’s how I ended up with a 1908 Wing & Son five-pedal piano!
I remember on my piano -- while it was being tuned -- one of the bass strings broke and was repaired using a tuner's knot. It's still in there thirty-something years later.
So surreal as a guitarist and cellist to watch basically the same process but on a much bigger, tighter scale. I feel the pain of having to constantly retune your new string. I replaced a guitar string about 2 months ago and it is JUST barely starting to keep it's pitch.
It is always so weird to me, as a luthier, to hear that piano's loose their value so heavily over time. On my side of the strings, instruments tend to get more expensive as they get older, not less.
I'd assume it's because the panels on a piano are thick, and heavily composited. So warping matters a lot more. What with joinery gaps developing over time, causing significant errors in important dimensions.
As a retired pro pianist, I offer these thoughts: because of the social history of the piano as a status symbol in the home, they are often treated more as mere furniture rather than fine instruments to be handled with great care and kept in good shape. More often than not they are not even tuned more than once a year, if that. There is also little attention to keeping room humidity in the proper range. And of course, there is much less demand for acoustic pianos now that electronic keyboards can adequately fulfill their function for most players - and much more besides. Finally, the styles of music which were written specifically to use pianos to their greatest capabilities are much less popular than in times past. Alas, the acoustic piano is rapidly becoming a quaint relic.
Jesus is the only way. We have all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins that may seem small in our eyes are big in God's and are worthy of Hell, such as lying lusting and stealing. But if we repent and trust only in Jesus, he is faithful and will save us from Hell and give us eternal life in Heaven. Trust in Jesus! John 3:16 Romans 6:23❤
Doing a complete rebuild on an unplayable piano in rough condition can cost less than buying a new inferior one, especially if the old piano is built in the earlier half of the 20th century or earlier. When you only get the necessary work done, that cost dips even lower even though it still costs several thousand dollars but that's more worth it than spending more on a piano that is too low of quality to be worth restringing. With how the world is today, it feels like most people won't understand until most of the old pianos were thrown away and become super rare and expensive in the worst condition.
@@user-lh3uz1cp7yTotally agree with your comments. Sadly, the majority of 'modern' pianos are (in my experience anyway) of much lowere build quality (with a few notable exceptions) and will not stand the test of time in the way that 'older' ones have. Pianos are about more than just monetary value too, and certainly more than about making life easier for us piano tuners. It's obviously right to point out to customers whether or not a repair is cost effective, but that is only half the story. Certainly, the piano in the video looks in pretty good shape compared to many I regularly tune. Without actually being able to physically assess it I would have though it was more than worthy of a few new strings.
@@user-lh3uz1cp7yyeah this guy needs to just mind his own business and do his d*** job. That’s why he was called in the first place, because they like the piano.
@@DougPaulleyyou'd think piano techs would have a string stretcher. You don't have to use one on a bass guitar, but I hate having to retune big heavy double-wound strings 11ty times. Then you might have to adjust the neck too.
I had a piano tuner break a couple strings while tuning my piano, he fixed them with a tuners knot and those 2 strings don't hold a tune very long at all. Not worth the money imo.
Really? So your base all of your knowledge by just the sight of the piano? When in reality you are watching a guy who has looked at a 1000 pianos and fixed many, and you say he is wrong.
@@aaronwmusic4086 I'm a piano tuner i look at pianos every day. It is indeed probably 40+ years old. Most people like broken in pianos because of sentimental value.
@@aaronwmusic4086 the only reason i wouldn't want to replace the strings is because with that amount of age the strings will be very bright for 2-3 years or forever compared to the rest of the strings. so its often better to junk it. but for a little kid it will do just fine.
You make a good point, and I wish I had time to address this in the video. There were a few major problems with the piano that I didn’t talk about. The strings breaking was just the “straw that broke the camels back” Though the piano is probably fine for a beginner student, Her daughter was very good and I thought this would be a perfect time to upgrade.
@@shookmusic3277 this quality of piano normally reflects the skill level of the player. Unless they're looking to upgrade, they're probably not going to notice the timbre difference. Of course we would as professionals.
Just asking for a frend. How do you recomend tuning an upright piano that hasn't binn tuned in 9 years? The C D E F G A B C, and sharps do not sound like a half step down, however if you compare it to standard pitch it is noticebally low. Also what do you recomend as a substitute or beter a good alternative to a tuning app?🎹🎶
Hey just wanted to check if you would want to work on my piano I got it for free from a church and I don't have much money to put towards it and it's a very interesting job because it's a Lyon and Healy player piano and it's very out of tune and some keys are broke and it need some repair, so just checking if you might be interested. ❤❤ Love your videos by the way
Is there a piano tuning tool kit you recommend? My son and I are interested in piano restoration (lots of free pianos to practice on) but we're trying to find a good tool kit to start with. Thanks!
Could a string of a grand piano hit the player when it breaks? I'm genuinely wondering. I saw a video a few years ago of a string breaking. It was so loud. And now I wonder if it can actually be dangerous.
I don't understand much but you're pretty much saying get a new piano just because a very tiny amount of strings broke? Even if every other string is perfectly fine?
The strings themselves are expensive, then you have to pay for them to be installed and then pay again to be retuned whilst they bed in. On an old spinet like this the cost of this work would likely exceed the value of the piano. Also, these pianos aren’t the best anyway, it will likely need more servicing in the near future and the sound of the new strings won’t match the old ones. So instead of spending money on repairs, it is wise to consider putting it towards a better piano.
I am confused Whats the point of the talk People have pianos to play, not to sit there doing nothing just to hopefully collect in value Piano is not a phone where someone dictate that after x amount of years what u used to be able to do, you wont (because there is no software update) anymore unless you buy a new one What does a new piano even offer that the old one doesnt (unless you upgrade to grandpiano) I would understand the talk if you sell pianos and you would benefit but u repair pianos so the older the piano, the more work u will have Unless I am missing something and after x amount of ysars u will not be able to get new strings and screws and keys for this piano
You're a fine businessman. People really desire and have a need for someone who is going to be honest with them. I know your faith has a role to play, here. All I can say about that is, "Praise God!" If you ever make it over to my part of the state (Mt. Pleasant), let me know. I would consider it an honor to buy you lunch or dinner.
What's the reason you think their piano isn't worth fixing? We're running out of all the resources you could think of so it's always more worth fixing the old pianos than getting a new one that isn't built to the same standards of the old ones. Even in super rough condition it costs less to restore an old piano then to buy an inferior new piano.
It's neat to see that, besides the sheer scale of it, this is a lot like the same process for replacing an electric guitar or bass string. I've snapped a couple guitar strings in my time and I'd hate to imagine the kind of strain on these huge strings here just being let loose all of a sudden. I notice that above the first couple octaves the piano has courses of 3 strings per key, so, how many strings do you actually have on here? And do you also have to worry about the tension of all those strings across the instrument affecting the tuning of the other strings, or is the body of the piano too solid to be warped by all that strain?