String massage

[Farrell]

Comments interspersed below:

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@KSCABLE.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2001 11:24 PM
Subject: Re: String massage
> >
> > I don't do the bass - doesn't seem to matter there. It makes more
difference
> > in the upper treble.
>
>
> Specifically, about where the agraffes end and the killer octave begins -
on up
> to about the beginning of the last octave. Gee, imagine that, another
killer
> octave phenomenon.
>
>
> >
> >  One is trying to raise the pitch of the backscale to the target string
> > tension. When you pull a string up to pitch and hit it several times
with the
> > hammer (piano hammer, that is!), and it keeps going flat, it is likely
that
> > the backscale tension is less than the speaking length string tension.
By
> > pressing down on the speaking length, you increase the tension on the
> > backscale. Then, when you raise the pitch of the speaking length, the
> > backscale is already at a similar tension and you will not observe the
> > tendency for the pitch of the speaking length to keep dropping - it will
be
> > much more stable.
>
>
> Absolutely, but you can get a similar effect by whacking the string with
the
> hammer without resorting to massage. First, however, you have to accept
the
> seemingly unpopular notion that strings actually render through bridges so
you
> have some clue about the observed reactions.

Sure they do, but you will only approach the same tension in the backscale
as that in the speaking length. And on many pianos, especially when it was
below pitch you really have to whack (er, a, repeatedly resort to
application of the medium blow key actuator) at it and sometimes you still
can watch the pitch drop. IMHexperience, I simply find that a quick going
over with the pressing procedure gets the backscale right up there more
easily than hitting the key. After stretching, you bring up the pitch of the
speaking length (which is now quite a bit more flat than before) and it is
amazing how stable it can be (if, of course, you just happen to do the
stretching/pressing just the right amount to leave the backscale at the
target tension).

> You've already done that I see, so
> the rest is relative gravy. BTW, the production of gravy is in some - er,
> relatively primitive circles, considered to be the optimal utilization of
> otherwise superfluous and redundant relatives, which tends to lend a whole
new
> flavor to the  phrase "You are what you eat". While this has arguably
little to
> do with stabilizing string segment tensions during the curse of a tuning,
I
> think it possibly does tend to focus attention on the topic at hand as a
means
> of avoidance, if nothing else. In any case, I think I just heard a
substantial
> quantity of attention snapping into focus, so I suppose it worked.
>
>
> >
> > I don't know that there is really any specific technique to doing this.
In
> > the high treble especially, try not to press down in one spot on the
string -
> > you will make a kink in it (I read that in a book somewhere).
>
>
> Will you? I wonder. What sort of deflection angle would you have to
inflict on
> a string with an (x) radius massager to exceed the elastic limit of the
string
> at the "massage" point? What would be the resultant string tension from
having
> achieved such a deflection angle in the area(s) indicated (so as to kink
the
> string), and by what magnitude would the breaking point of the string be
> exceeded to affect this kink? I haven't actually done the math on this
one, but
> I have serious doubts that it's possible to kink a string in this section
of
> the scale by a single point deflection without breaking the string.

Well, I have little doubt. You see, the book I read also had pictures! So I
have seen it. Fortunately, the pictures were taken at many angles such that
if you watch the light reflect off the strings you will in fact see that
there is a little dent right where you (er, a, I mean the guy in the book)
push with your brass rod.

> Hint - it's dependant on the radius of the implement of massage/speaking
> length.

Yeah, that is why it might be better to use something like the brass wheel
sold by the supply houses that was designed to stretch new strings. But I
find that if you use a sweeping motion you don't get any observable string
distortion.

I find it fast, and BOOM, the piano seems to be instantly stable when you
bring it up to pitch!

> Sorry. It's been a day from the Stygian depths of "unremittingly usual"
and I'm
> bored.

Wazzamatter? You got the Acrosonic blues?

> Ron N
>