Replacing plain wire

[S. Brady]

Dave,

I haven't tried it, but I bet it would make a real improvement. Come to
think of it, that WAS the sort of sound I got on that one note.


Steve

On Sat, 10 Nov 2001, David M. Porritt wrote:

> Steve:
>
> Do you think the low end of the plain wire section on small consoles
> could be helped by using this stainless steel wire?  The scale
> tensions in that area give such a funky sound.  Is that the kind of
> sound you got from that one unison of modern wire?  I'd think barbed
> wire could be better than much of what I hear on these undersized
> PSOs.  :-)
>
> dave
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 11/10/01 at 10:04 AM S. Brady wrote:
>
> >Ted, Stephen, and list:
> >
> >I've used this wire on an 1830-something Chickering, and it worked
> >beautifully. It does have a lower tensile strength than modern wire,
> but
> >so did the original wire on these old 19th-cent. instruments. I ran
> short
> >and had to string one note with modern wire, and the tone just stuck
> out
> >like a sore thumb on that note. The "Pure Sound" wire has a sweet,
> >gorgeous tonal character, while the note strung in modern wire
> sounded
> >hard and clangy. Of course, I immediately ordered more wire to
> replace the
> >modern wire. I believe one of the reasons the modern wire sounded so
> bad
> >is that it was too far below its breaking point; in other words, it
> was
> >too strong for the application.
> >
> >Steve
> >
> >On Sat, 10 Nov 2001, Stephen Birkett wrote:
> >
> >> Ted wrote:
> >> > I am curious about the stainless steel wire advertized in the
> Journal.
> >=
> >> > Has anyone used it? Or intending to? I was taught that the main
> =
> >> > objection to it was that its breaking strain was not high
> enough, but =
> >> > wonder if the metallergy has improved for this particular make
> of
> >wire. =
> >> > If so it would be a true breakthrough.
> >>
> >> Haven't tried it, but tensile stength is less than modern steel
> piano
> >> wire. It is an alloy comp. chosen to match, with an existing
> modern
> >> alloy, reasonably closely the properties of earlier steel wire.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >_________________________________________________
> >
> >Steve Brady, RPT
> >Head Piano Technician, University of Washington
> >Editor Emeritus, Piano Technicians Journal
>
>
> _____________________________
> David M. Porritt
> dporritt@mail.smu.edu
> Meadows School of the Arts
> Southern Methodist University
> Dallas, TX 75275
> _____________________________
>
>


_________________________________________________

Steve Brady, RPT
Head Piano Technician, University of Washington
Editor Emeritus, Piano Technicians Journal