Comments & a few questions below: Terry Farrell ----- Original Message ----- From: "Delwin D Fandrich" <pianobuilders@olynet.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 1:55 PM Subject: Re: Standard Pitch 1870 to Present > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: September 18, 2001 5:10 AM > Subject: Standard Pitch 1870 to Present > > > > > > > 1) Any sweat tuning a piano designed for 435 to 440 beyond the string > > breakage potential? Basically, why not? I am asking about any piano - new > or > > old - but especially an old one, such as the Everett. > > Whether you raise a sweat or not while doing this depends a lot on your > personal physiology and on how hot and humid it is down there. It's in the > mid-60s and not terribly humid up (and out) here so, no, we wouldn't sweat > much at all doing this. Geeeez, always gotta be so technical? > Raising pitch from 435 to 440 represents something less than a 2.5% increase > in overall tension--I'm sure Ron will give you the exact amount. With > probably 99.9% of the old pianos out there this will not be a problem. It's > up to you to determine if the piano facing you is one of the 99.9% or part > of the 0.01%. With a piano like an Everett which, (at least in the > beginning) had a reputation for exceptionally solid construction, I'd not > worry. > > 2) ....Or is > > there something about the design of the piano that might dictate its > optimal > > pitch? > > Not that I'm aware of. I've encountered several makes and models of pianos > over the years that, depending on when they were built, were labeled both > A=435 and A=440. You pays your money and takes your pick. Or, in the > immortal words of one of our more infamous philosophers, "...just screw it, > and tune 'em where you want them to be?" Hmmm. Now who woulda said that? > > > > 3) I would like to try the new stainless steel Absolute Sound wire. They > > make two strengths - regular strength for "older pianos" and high strength > > for "modern pianos". > > Personally I'd be a bit cautious using stainless steel wire in a piano. It > might work quite well in some cases but I suspect its tensile strength is > some low and it tends to gall when rubbing against another metal surface > with much force. I guess I'd want to try a few samples under test conditions > for a while first. Thanks for the advise, I will look into that. > > So I have a square I am restringing. I also have a 1900 > > Bechstein that I will be restringing. Is my Bechstein an older piano? Yes. > > Is it modern? Looks modern also to me. (I have talked to Absolute Sound > > folks, and I get the feeling their recommendations are just "shooting from > > the hip".) Should the selection of the string type depend on a stringing > > scale analysis (by a knowledgeable analyst - not me)? > > Yes, the selection of the string type should depend on a stringing scale > analysis with the needs of the scale being then compared with the known > characteristics of the wire. > > I have very little information on the scaling characteristics of squares. > Nor do I want to accumulate any. Check with Joe Garrett. On the Bechstein, > however, you might encounter a quite high-tension scale. Assuming you are game, you will be designing a new soundboard, bridges, and stringing scale for this piano. But first a couple boards in uprights to warm up with. :-) > > Are we getting into > > "low tension scales" and "high tension scales" with this? Are these two > > general classifications where these two types of strings would be used? > What > > is a "low" and "high" tensions scale? A low scale on the same piano would > > have lower tension and less mass for any given string? In general, why > would > > a designer choose a low or high tension scale? > > Sorry, this takes up quite a lot of a 3 hr class on string scaling. But, > yes, you're getting into 'low-tension' vs 'high-tension' scales here. Come > to Texas in October. Oooooo, Texas is a no-can-do. Will you be giving a class on scaling in Chicago??? I WILL be there! > > Am I asking too many questions? I suspect someone will simply provide me > > with a reference. That would be OK. But I suspect some of the above > > questions will not be answered in a book. Hoping for both I guess. Thanks > to > > anyone. > > Sadly there are no references that go into this. At least none that I'm > aware of. I do go into it quite a bit in the class I'm currently doing--come > to Texas next month--but other than that I don't know of anywhere else to > send you. Can you recommend a software package for designing stringing scales? I know it takes a lot more than just pushing a few buttons to design a great scale, but I suspect the playing and analyzing would be a great educational tool. > Del > >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC