In a message dated 28/05/03 7:57:10 AM, tito@philbondi.com writes: << Stringing Braid is not necessarily necessary.>> Hmmm as cost conscious as manufacturers are do you think they would waste this string braid if there were not a good reason???? <<There was alot of stringing braid that came off of this Baldwin(#17907..circa 1911)..the bass bridge wire was braided, and the low tenor to about A4 was braided. That's over 1/2 of the instrument being braided.>> Yeah...well it is a Baldwin..what's your point?? <<Is there some musical significance to stringing braid? If there is, I'm not hearing it.>> In a lot of cases there is no real "musical significance" to braid but...... in most cases there is a definite tuning/voicing significance. <<The piano is the only stringed instrument that I can think of that uses a dampening agent(?) on its waste area for the purpose of...........>> Ok fair enough....but how many musical instruments have "waste areas" as long as the typical piano?? <<That's my question: What is the purpose of stringing braid?>> To dampen undesirable overtones/harmonics/zings and swishes. <<If its purpose is to dampen overtones, aren't the overtones necessary in the production of sound?>> Certainly they are beneficial as long as the overtones are harmonically pleasing but usually these thingees are somewhat less than pleasing................... << because I'm not hearing anything that requires it to be 'prettier'.>> Have you considered pottery as your new occupation?? :-) Anyhow this question will answer itself as you string more pianos and find yourself going back to install 'tenor' string braid beneath/between strung bass strings........ and then going back to braid the bass....... I would think that three times should suffice! ;-) I just completed an after the fact string braid job on a little grand that a local RPT rewhatevered several years ago. Customer was complaining of damper problems that did not exist and the RPT could not fix...even after several calls. It was not damper noise it was "waste area" ringing/zinging/swhhhhhishing. No string braid was installed......I installed braid on bass and tenor string "waste areas" and the customer was tickled to death................. but whatever floats your boat baby....... Jim Bryant (FL)
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