Bird-Cage pianos answer

[Robert Wilson]

 Being in England, he
> should have more
> information than most, but doesn't appear to.
> Bird-cage pianos were made up into the 1930's! So
> his 20's is not
> correct.

I don't consider myself an authority on the overdamper
subject but in nearly 40 years of tuning in London I
can say with some authority that most overdampers I
have encountered were made before the first war.  Some
makers carried on making pianos this way into the
1920s and beyond until they went out of business but
very few if any could have been made as late as the
30s or if they were they are not around now for some
reason.

Germans made Over Strung Over Damper pianos
> for the most part and
> they are not any more difficult to regulate than any
> other overdamper

They are much more fiddly and take longer to regulate

> system. His comment about the overdamper being less
> efficient is a step in
> the right direction of What The Purpose of The
> Design Was.
> As I said in my last post, I will bend your ear,
> (actually eyes), at a later
> date, with a very lengthy post on B-Cages. Until
> then, it would be nice if
> you all would venture guesses as to the purpose of
> the overdamper system
>
I am waiting for your information on the purpose of
the design - I would have thought that the purpose was
to damp the strings which it only manages with a
moderate amount of success but I still have much to
learn, you never finish learning in this business and
I look forward to your next posting.

Kind regards,

Bob Wilson
London.

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