Hi.  Haven't posted to the site in years!  Anyway, I currently have a Bizzi single, built in 2003, and have been considering purchasing a Hubbard double.  The Hubbard was built in ~1995, from a kit, but it turns out that the "kit" was ordered with a complete frame, and then it was strung, regulated etc, by a professional harpsichord builder in Davis, CA (now retired).  I tired it out today, and the action and feel seemed good.  The instrument appears to be well cared for, and passed my preliminary evaluation, and I'm thinking about it.

I've noticed over the years that the Bizzi is very hard to get in good tune, especially in the upper pitch notes. It is very difficult to achieve small changes in pitch, resulting in a lot of time spent on each string.  It is strung with brass strings.
The Hubbard seemed to be much easier to get into pitch, in that the tuning pins were much more resistant to large changes with each small adjustment.  It is strung with steel strings.

Is there a preference of steel vs brass?

The Bizzi has wooden jacks and the Hubbard has plastic jacks.  Do these have a life span?


Thanks for any help that any of you might be able to provide.  

Bruce

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