88 note pianos -Reply

[FirTree@aol.com]

>>Jack said:
>>To add to Vince's comment, I was taught that the top three notes
>>were important in order to extend the bridge and put a load on it.
>>Having a loaded bridge that ex
>>better sounding note.
>
>I have seen some pianos that have one additional unstruck string and the low
>end of the treble bridge. I believe that Baldwin in their "concert vertical"
>sets a lump of lead into the bridge. I guess these are attempts to "load the
>bridge" or in musical te
>
>rms to "sustain the tone" i.e. increase dwell time on the low end of the
>treble bridge.
>
>I wonder if anyone has tried "weighting" the high treble end of the
>bridge--maybe it would improve tone there, too?
>
>Regards, Don Rose drose@saskmaple.net
>
>

At a Puget Sound Chapter PTG meeting, Del Fandrich demonstrated this effect
by clamping vise grip pliers to the bridge pins, paticularly at the tenor end
of the treble bridge. This was on a cheap little grand, and the tenor range
really started singing with that added weight. There was discussion of adding
weight by screwing it on _under_ the soundboard in line with the soundboard
buttons. We didn't try it on the high trebel that I recall, but it would be
easy to find out next time you're tuning a piano (and the customer isn't
looking!).

Dave Stocker
firtree@aol.com
Tumwater, WA