Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Bridge crack :(

Hi,

I have a Yamaha C3 in perfect condition, very stable in tune. Suddenly a few months ago, the highest B was WAY off-key. I called in my regular tuning guy, and he noticed my treble bridge has a crack! It's about 10 cm, only on 1 side of the pins and it's only in the top layer. I really appreciate your thoughts about this, because I have know idea why this happened.

He re-tuned the highest octave, and since then everything is ok. The guy says I should not worry, and just wait and see what happens. It might be ok for the next 40 years...

Off course, I'm not happy with this and DO worry about the consequences.
- Does this mean my highest octave will be out of tune more often?
- Does this mean any transportation of the piano will risk it to fully crack?

Does anyone know how this should be repaired properly? Does the entire bridge have to be replaced??? (Would require all strings to be detached, or not?)

To make my worries worse...I still do have warranty for the piano, but it was a warranty for 5 years and it will finish this month. I always maintained the piano properly. I do have climate control, etc, so would it be realistic to expect them to fix this for free? I simply do not understand what has gone wrong...

Thanks for your thoughts!
Regards,
Leon

Regardless of the outcome, file the warranty claim now. Even if you don't make any repairs, at least you have the claim on record prior to its expiration.

Absolutely! This should be covered by the warranty.

The entire bridge does not need to be replaced.
The repair can vary a bit depending on what is failing.
Usually just removing some strings and the bridge pin/s, fill the crack with epoxy, reinsert pin/s, clamp and clean will make a long lasting repiar.
Splits like this usually happen when there is either too much side bearing on the bridge pin and or the wood grains of the bridge/cap are paralell to the line of force, it is not a catastrophy but you do want someone with experience doing the work.

I would not recommend doing a half-way job when the piano is still under warranty. If it is enough for the piano to have gone out of tune, it should be repaired properly. This is a serious problem. Yamaha should take care of it for you.

Whatever problems you get with a Yamaha product under warranty, you should always contact your dealer, who will liaise with Yamaha.(at least in Europe)

Gene is right that there are perfectly acceptable repair techniques for cracked bridges.

BDB is more "right" in saying this is Yamaha's problem and not yours. You have a warrenty for a reason and if the bridge has failed I would want a replacement "belly job," (new board, bridges and stringing). I have seen it done under the same circumstances with nearly every major maker. Pianos with busted bridges do not improve the reputation of a piano maker and they should by very anxious to get on this so we would stop talking about it on the internet.

Thank's all for your thoughts!

Sam; Why would you prefer a new board, bridges and stringing? I guess nothing is wrong with the board nor the strings, so I'm worried a total replacement would really change the tone of the instrument. Is it bad to detach and re-attach strings during such a repair?

Secondly...I bought the piano secondhand, so I guess it's no Yamaha warranty but warranty of the (certified Yamaha) dealer. The piano is almost 14 years old, but has been sold to me in "absolute new condition with 5 year warranty" almost 5 years ago.

My tuning-guy says the dealer might suggest it has been to dry in my environment. However I'm sure that has not been the case. So, should I settle for a "simple" fix or demand a bridge repair by Yamaha?

Suppose I would ever want to sell my piano, I guess a "simple" fix-repair would not be in my advantage as well...

But I'm still wondering why this could have happened? Could it be just a bad wood/glue quality or something?

Thank's all!
Regards,
Leon

You've been given good advice so far.

Without seeing it, or having been servicing it, none of us can say for sure what the cause is. However, the most likely cause is usually an environment that has been to dry for to long. Perhaps beginning in the previous home and perhaps continuing in yours as well.

Sometimes, dealers or manufacturer's will not cover the problem if that be the case. They will most likely talk with your technician who should know that answer if he has been servicing the piano regularly.

Your 5 year extended warranty is called a "Yamaha Assurance Warranty." At least, that's what it's called in America. It is through Yamaha, not the dealer. UNLESS it was given strictly BY the dealer and not by Yamaha, in which case it will be up to the dealer to decide whether or not he will fix it. Let the technician handle it but, have it handled soon before the warranty does run out and keep tabs on it.

Personally, I carry a hygrometer and write the temperature and relative humidity in the piano each time I tune it just for that purpose. There is no fooling a good digital hygrometer.

Der Jerry is correct. We can't see it from here. A warrenty is either an insurance policy taken out with Yamaha or a vauge promise by a dealer. If it's a dealer promise you're on the path to a standard epoxe repair which is as "permanent" as it gets. If it is a legitmate warrenty then the standard factory procedure is to put in a new board with bridges and stringing. May use the same bass strings. It's easier to do that than to pop off the bridge and risk damaging the board. I've seen cracked bridges on "new" Baldwins, Steinways, Bosendorfers, you name it. It happens.

Many years ago I was doing floor tuning for a Kimball dealer and he had 4 or 5 Bosies including an Imperial. While "BS"ing with the boys in the office a loud "BANG" came from the showroom floor. We looked around and didn't see thing. A few days later I was tuning the Imperial and noticed the extreme treble VERY zingy. The bridge was tapered and they put a glue joint right along the line of forward bridge pins. The whole joint failed. BOOM.