Bluthner Tuning (long-winded rehash of unison tuning)

[Mark Schecter]

Hi, Ric. Thanks for the link - I have not yet read the article, but I
will. It is a tradeoff, good word, between sustain and cleanness. It is
interesting to push against the border between those two, to see where
the limit lies. I used to be more absolute about it, but I'm loosening
up a bit. I just find that there are times when a softer focus yields a
pleasing effect. As to the Bluthner with/without aliquots, I won't hold
my breath for the results of that experiment. :)

- Mark

Ric Brekne wrote:
> Hi Mark and others.  Some interesting stuff written on this thread for 
> sure.  As to the below.... I have to raise my finger in the air in 
> question. It was my understanding that and increase in sustaing if 
> strings are slightly decoupled  has been already shown to be true and 
> above question.  Very similiar to the basic tradeoff between sustain and 
> power problems.  Its not a matter of increasing or decreasing energy... 
> its a matter of how it is to be distributed through the system.  I 
> suppose you have read the article by Gabriel Weinreich  
> http://www.speech.kth.se/music/5_lectures/weinreic/weinreic.html
> This said...  I believe that unisons in a very real sense can not ever 
> achieve a perfect coupled motion in the first place. There is always at 
> the minimum at least some barely discernable wavering.  I wouldnt 
> necessarilly call this instability beating per se... but unisons are 
> never clean in the absolute sense that is meant in the physics models 
> drafted in such articles as the above.
> 
> So just how much a tradeoff between sustain and power (unison cleanness 
> as it were in this instance) one can achieve is an open question as far 
> as I can see.
> 
> As for the Bluthner extra string...  I am entirely unconvinced it does 
> anything to increase sustain one way or the other.  It can be used to 
> colour the over all sound of the unison and intervals.  I've often 
> surmised it may have some affect of supporting crown slightly. But 
> increasing sustain ?? Well I've never carefully measured and then 
> removed the entire set of extra strings to find out... so I suppose I 
> should be cautious in making any declarations.
> 
> Cheers
> RicB
> 
> --------------------------
> 
> Mark Schecter writes:
> 
> OK. So the treble notes decay more quickly than lower notes, and we
> would like to slow that decay, IOW increase the sustain time, and we
> think maybe we can trick the piano into doing our bidding by "tweezing"
> the unisons. I say that it doesn't work, and that no matter how we tune
> or detune unisons, that the best we can do is _create the illusion of
> greater sustain_. We can no more make the note last longer than the
> input energy through the string-bridge-board-air makes possible, than we
> can make water flow uphill.
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