[CAUT] Stuart & Son on NPR

[Fred Sturm]

On Jan 19, 2011, at 3:53 AM, Ed Sutton wrote:

> Also, as I recall, they said the partial retrofit was done that way  
> because the structure of the Baldwin didn't allow the agraffes to  
> fit all the way across the bridge


That may well be, that the agraffes were too wide to fit with the  
scale. The result was a disaster of a piano, with a very obvious drop  
off in all sorts of tonal areas as you went from the agraffes to the  
standard. All of which made it a very good demo for the potential of a  
retrofit, assuming your scale allows it where you actually need it.  
Everyone I saw trying it out was immediately struck by the difference,  
it was not subtle.
	BTW, Sauter uses titanium pins, but not to add mass, instead for the  
hard surface. In fact, titanium is lighter than standard (which is why  
it is used for airplanes and backpacking gear). I'm not sure why they  
prefer it to far cheaper stainless steel - perhaps it is harder. Those  
pins plus the ebony give a very precise termination, as at least part  
of the equation. I suppose the added mass of the ebony has a further  
impact.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu