BASS STRINGS FOR PIANO AND GRANDPIANO

Our workshop has been making bass (twisted) strings for a long time.

For this there is a string machine, materials from German manufacturers “Degen” and “Roslau”, as well as the most necessary thing, this is experience.

We equip all the instruments that we had for restoration with our own strings. So we have a lot of experience. We offer both individual production and production of a whole chord (set) of bass strings for an instrument of any size.

To order one string you must have four sizes (see photo):

• the length of the string from the pin to the beginning of the gimp (copper winding),
• the length of the string from the pin to the end of the gimp,
• core thickness (metal base),
• total thickness of the string.

Length measurements are made in millimeters using a tape measure, thickness measurements are made with a micrometer. Of course, you can get by with a caliper, but then you can only talk about approximate compliance with the required dimensions.

There are several options for taking measurements. It all depends on whether the string itself needs to be clearly copied or whether it is better to optimally place the new string on the instrument (in the case of not entirely successful factory calculations and manufacturing). In the case of making a whole set, you should take measurements of the working part of each string on the instrument, and then subtract and add the necessary millimeters “for tightening”. It is this version of the measurements that is reproduced in the photo.

The new individual string must be manufactured as accurately as possible, so several factors must be specified:

• whether the measurements were carried out in the instrument without tolerances (working length), or with a tightening tolerance (gimp length), or whether the broken string itself was measured outside the instrument.
• type of loop (ear): manual (German) loop, in which direction; long (machine or French) loop and its length.
• direction of winding the gimp (right or left winding).

Also, for accurate measurements, the length and bend of the frame pin is important, since this indicator also adds 2-6 mm to the measurements. To avoid this confusion, Hellerbass has invented a special tape measure that starts at the front edge of the frame pin. To simplify the measurement procedure, we do not focus on this feature, especially since when making the string we also use a tape measure placed on the working pin. But nothing prevents, if necessary, from discussing the details very clearly.

It would not be amiss to note that for the quality of the final result, when a string breaks in paired or triple basses, it is recommended to change the entire choir at once (a pair or triplet on one note). This is due to the fact that the quality and properties of old and new metals are different and, to a greater or lesser extent, these strings will differ in timbre. For understanding, we can state that even a new gimp, manufactured a year apart, differs in performance characteristics, but this difference is difficult to notice. As a result, quite often it seems impossible to tune those two or three strings in unison. A mismatch of only one overtone will produce beats in the sound. Fortunately, this difference is almost unnoticeable in most cases.

• from 200 UAH
• 2 - 3 days