Wapin bridge

[Ron Nossaman]

>It strikes me that the main thing about the Wapin arrangement is the 
>near perpendicular disposition of the front pin.  Without reading 
>right through the patent I can't be sure if he says anything about 
>the way the "bearing point edge" is cut and whether a small vertical 
>drop is desirable (a feature Wolfenden admires in the practice of one 
>maker, probably Ibach) or whether this angle should be at least 
>steep, as it certainly is not on the Steinway.

Yes, the vertical pin is the pertinent point. Tim Coates straightened me
out on this a while back. The purpose of the vertical pin is to steer the
string oscillations to horizontal, or parallel to the soundboard. This
slows energy transfer to the bridge/soundboard and extends sustain as a result.


Ron N