Longitudinal mode info

[Delwin D Fandrich]

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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Michael Spalding=20
  To: Pianotech=20
  Sent: October 13, 2003 11:26 AM
  Subject: Re: Longitudinal mode info


  Many thanks to Bob, Del, and George who provided the patent =
information.  Just printed out a copy from the USPTO website; this =
should provide excellent entertainment on many a sleepless night!!

  Del, was Conklin's method then put into practice on some or all of =
Baldwin's pianos?

  Mike
Well, yes and no. Do another patent office search and you'll find a =
patent issued for the string winding machine required to reach the level =
of precision needed to make the concept work as Mr Conklin intended. The =
machine was way too slow for production -- about one set of strings per =
machine per day -- and it was (they were?) being shipped off to Mapes =
about the time I arrived at the company. During my time there Mapes was =
wrapping Baldwin bass strings on their regular machines. So, yes, the =
strings were wrapped to the required core and wrap specifications but, =
no, they had nothing like the precision required to actually tune the =
longitudinals to any kind of predictable harmonic. After you've figured =
out how to calculate the required numbers you'll see that to achieve =
effective longitudinal mode tuning great liberties are taken with core =
and wrap wire sizes. There is no consistency to them at all. This, then, =
sacrifices tonal uniformity, power and inharmonicity. By not wrapping to =
the required precision the company had ended up with the worst of both =
systems. Since it was unlikely Mapes was ever going to be able to =
deliver the kind of consistency and precision required by SynchroTone I =
had just started redesigning it out of the bass scales one at a time =
when I left the company. (I'm not intending to be hard on Mapes here. =
They were under severe budget controls -- those strings had to be CHEAP! =
CHEAP! CHEAP!) I don't know what happened after that.

Del
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