----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Airy" <stephen_airy@yahoo.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: November 27, 2000 1:59 AM Subject: Re: restringing question > I see. It's just a matter of personal preference -- I don't like my > monochords to extend above A13 or my bichords to hit C28. :) At the > lowest I like my bichords to hit G11 or F9 (C4 in a Bosendorfer Imperial -- > don't know if it's like that) and I like the trichords to extend down to > C28, B27, or A#26 (some have them down to F21 or lower maybe -- I happen to > like the tone at A25 and down that you get with wound strings). > ------------------------------------------------------ Both of these are a function of scale length. That is, what is appropriate for a concert grand is not appropriate for a 160 cm grand, or a 110 cm vertical or a 132 cm vertical. In general, in a longer the piano both plain wire tri-chord unisons and bi-chord unisons can run further down in the scale. In a smaller piano, unless there is particularly wide string spacing, the physical characteristics of the string -- overall diameter and space needed for them to vibrate without impacting neighboring strings -- will often dictate where the transition must be made. We have encounter several pianos in which proper scaling could not be achieved with bichords because the original spacing was so close that the wires would probably impact on hard blows. If the scaling is done correctly you should hear no difference at all between mono-chord wrapped strings and bi-chord wrapped strings in a piano of reasonable size. And the acoustical anomalies at the bass/tenor break are more often the result of poor soundboard and bridge design than of string scale design. (Assuming, of course, that the string scaling was done correctly. In most existing pianos, it is not.) Del
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