Scaling questions

[Tom Rush]

On Mon, 25 Mar 1996, Mark Dierauf <71204.2532@compuserve.com> wrote:
>
> >>The few references I have read on scaling generally give the formulas,
> >>and talk about a desired tension range of, say, 160-180 pounds.
>
> 160 lbs is OK for plain wire (trichords), but bichords should be higher, and
> monochords higher still.

I was asking about rescaling plain wire only.

> >>I checked a Steinway M in the shop last week, and calculated the tension
> >>on the lowest wire to be in the area of 120-125 pounds, obviously out
> >>of the "desired range".
>
> If you really want to fix this problem,

I'm not rescaling the M; I was using that as an example of how the tension
of the plain wire strings generally drops in the tenor section with most
manufacturer's scale designs.

>   If you do elect to rescale this instrument, be sure to inform the customer
> that you will be modifiying the string design.

Maybe my first post was a little obscure.  The piano I want to rescale (an
old Knabe 7'6" grand) had already been restrung.  Whoever did the work put
their own scale in it, and it was obviously bad.  (Consider this:  starting
at note #21, first plain wire unison:  23ga--8 unisons; 22ga--2; 21 1/2--6;
21ga--6; 20ga--2; 17 1/2--4; etc.  This means nothing smaller than 20 until
F4 !!!  To make matters worse, this piano has a 3/4 plate--the pinblock
was practically destroyed.)

The original scale is unavailable; I don't want my new pinblock to suffer
the same fate as the old one; and I could come up with a better scale
than what was on there without any problem (who couldn't! except for the
guy that did it last...).  I was just looking for some tips on how to
figure plain wire sizes in the tenor region, since using a set tension
of 160-180 lbs. gives undesirable results.

Lest someone say "Run, don't walk, away from this piano", it's already
too late for that....
--
Tom Rush
tarush@chatt.mindspring.com