Inharmonicity

[Dennis Arden]

>Can anyone explain the inharmonicity between two bass strings that should
>sound in unison?  What is the cause?
>
>I encounter this on the rare occasion that I replace a bass string with a
>universal.  The most excruciating example of this was on a Baldwin spinet a
>couple years ago.
>
>Merry Christmas!
>
>Arlie D. Rauch
>Glendive, MT
>
>
Your problem most likely stems from differing copper winding length or
diameter between the new and the old strings for that unison. Just because
the diameter is the same (between the two strings), dosen't mean that they
have been all wrapped with the same diameter winding.  Universal strings are
good for a quick fix, but may cause problems such as you are describing.
Also, if the old string(s) on the same unison are corroded, matching or
emulating tambre may be a problem. On the better pianos, I usually send the
sample to Mapes for a more accurate match than a universal can provide.

Dennis S. Arden RPT, AE
a440tech@loop.com