To the non-piano technican, the word agraffe must seem a little strange. An agraffe is a small brass piece with holes in it that guide and space the the strings. They are found in most grand pianos and a few upright pianos. They also act as one of two speaking length termination points for the vibrating string, and are attached to the cast iron frame. Over time they can begin to weaken from the stress that they are put under with the tension of the string constantly bearing on them. Also, wear occurs with the movement of the strings through the tiny holes in the agraffe. This can cause tonal issues, which can be very annoying, and difficult to remidy. For this reason, on any piano more than 40 years old that I am rebuilding, I insist on replacing the agraffes.
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