Capo bars - Del's Article and then some

[David Skolnik]

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Bill -

Thanks for the additional information.  I'd be curious to read and / or see 
what you have, if I can ever get myself to a conference again.  Sorry to 
ask...what's LOL?

David Skolnik




At 01:53 AM 2/15/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>David:
>
>The agraffe-like hardware devices which you refer to were an important 
>part of the "Centennial Grand".  I feature an 1875 "Style 5"  Centennial 
>Grand in my "Early Steinway Grand" program.  The first-generation (early 
>1870's) front duplex had a very low draft angle, and included agraffes to 
>the top of the piano.  On the first-generation front duplexing, the string 
>front termination was at the agraffe, and the round hole may not have been 
>effective at consistently leaking...maybe it was too good at 
>clamping.....   The 1875 patent idea was the first front duplex system I 
>know of to terminate the string with a round bar, and the first time the 
>front duplexing looked at all like the modern Steinway.    It wasn't the 
>first time Steinway introduced a duplexing idea with expensive hardware 
>and later included the concept in simple plate casting later;  the first 
>generation duplexing was introduced in the same way, with duplex inserts 
>which design later became part of the casting.
>
>Ask Webb to have me give the program at MARC when I come -LOL - the 
>classes are all scheduled already - I have my theories about this stuff, 
>some of which I blame on Del, but which he might distance himself 
>from....Steinway's duplexing efforts in the 1870's are part of a 
>little-observed, larger reality which should be brought to the fore and 
>result in a revision of the history of piano technology.   It's sort of 
>the climax of my "Early Steinway Grand" program....and possibly a 
>yet-to-be-written journal article....and I believe it should have an 
>impact on the history of piano technology, oh, lofty stuff...  Well, I'll 
>have my laptop at MARC and would be happy to share some of the pics with 
>you there if you're interested.
>
>As for the initial question about capo/tasto/disastro nomenclature, 
>hmmm....can't say I've cleared the waters any, though you've pointed to 
>CFT's use of the terms...
>
>Bill Shull
>
>
>
>
>In a message dated 2/14/2004 7:49:27 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
>davidskolnik@optonline.net writes:
>Garret & others,
>
>The recent discussion titled "Capo bars", which extended from 1/28 to 
>2/02, was attempting to address both etymology and consistency of 
>nomenclature.  Of the first I have nothing to add, however, looking into 
>the second proved illuminating.
>
>At 04:11 PM 1/31/2004 -0500, Garret wrote:
>>Del wrote: There is a drawing in one of my PT Journal articles 
>>illustrating what I mean.
>>
>>Does someone know off hand what PT Journal issue that was?
>>
>>Garret
>
>You may have already found this information, but I don't see that anyone 
>replied to your request on list.  I believe the article Del was referring 
>to was in the August 1995 issue, titled "The Designer's Notebook-- Front 
>Duplex Stringing Scales".  This was a second installment, the first having 
>appeared in the June issue, and both being in response to a round-table 
>discussion regarding capo d'astros which appeared in the February 1995 issue.
>
>There seems to be some confusion regarding the term capo d'astro and capo 
>tastro.  I hadn't previously come across capo tastro,
>and, in any case, the element seems most often simply referred to as "capo 
>bar".
>
>>Delwin D Fandrich <fandrich@pianobuilders.com> wrote:
>>The capo tastro bar and the V-bar are two different things even if they 
>>are most often part of the same casting. The capo-tastro bar is formed in 
>>the bottom part of the mold, the V-bar in the top.
>
>Vince Myrkalo then asked:
>
>>Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 17:47:26 -0800 (PST)
>>From: madelyn mrykalo <madvinmryk@yahoo.com>
>>Subject: RE: Capo bars
>>
>>Is there a difference between capo tastro and capo d'astro?
>
>and Del (I think) sent the following:
>
>>Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004 08:25:13 -0800
>>From: Delwin D Fandrich <fandrich@pianobuilders.com>
>>Subject: RE: Capo bars
>
>>According to Giraffes, Black Dragons, and Other Pianos by Edwin M. Good 
>>(Second Edition, 2001. Published by the Stanford University Press, ), 
>>capo d' astro is essentially a meaningless term (at least as applied to 
>>the piano) meaning "cap of the star." In other words it was a marketing 
>>term. Capo tastro is Italian for "cap of the key" which at least has some 
>>relationship to a component of the piano. Probably a more meaningful term 
>>would be "capotasto," also from Italian, meaning "head of the 
>>fingerboard." (According to the Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary.)
>
>
>
>I found the Steinway patent # 170,646 (C.F. Theodore Steinway - October 
>20, 1875) titled "Improvement in Agraffes For Piano-Fortes" relevantly 
>interesting in this matter.  It's actually a patent for individual 
>capodastro.   These were like large brass machine thread screws which were 
>installed from beneath into what Steinway referred to simply as a 
>transverse bar.  The wide slot in the head of this screw then received 
>a  round steel "face", which was hammered into place,  He claimed this 
>modification "reduced the width of the bearing surfaces of the capodastros 
>... and at the same time the strings are prevented from wearing into the 
>faces of the capodastros."   It  seems that he was referring to the 
>capodastro as the member that would normally be contacting the strings, 
>like the V bar.  Does anyone know whether any pianos were actually 
>produced with this feature?
>
>
>David Skolnik

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/aa/76/41/2f/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--