Problems With Duplex Scaling Of Pearl River Grands?

[Farrell]

Comments interspersed:

----- Original Message ----- 
> I'm not sure I agree Terry. In your last post to Andrew you state
> 
>    "When we "detune" a front or backscale, don't we specifically try to
>    avoid a fractional length of that note's speaking length to quiet
>    the front and/or backscales?"
> 
> which implies it DOES make a "whit" if the back duplex is tuned to a 
> specific relationship to the speaking length. 
 
Correct. Did I not say that? Perhaps I wasn't clear. Indeed, that is my understanding of "tuned" backscale designs - make the backscale some fractional length of that note's speaking length. 

The only thing I was trying to point out was that if C6 (for example) has a "tuned" backscale, some partial of C6 should excite the C6 backscale. The original post suggested that C6 speaking length would not excite a fractional-length C6 backscale, but rather some other note elsewhere on the piano would - and yes, other notes will also excite C6, but my point was that C6 will also excite it's own "tuned" backscale.

> Once accepted that 
> certain relationships to the speaking result cause clear and predictable 
> acoustic results... you are immediately into a judgement call as to 
> whether the results are desirable or not.

Agree. Correct. But I was not making any comment on whether the "tuned" duplex scale is desirable or not.

> Strikes me that manufacturers are all out to make things as cost 
> effective as possible... if the whole basic back duplex idea was totally 
> ridiculous to begin with... no amount of marketing can account for the 
> fact that so many manufacturers are wasting so much time, money and 
> resources putting them in.

I'd disagree with that. If it sells, why not waste time, money and resources. Can you say "CAPITALISM!"?

> Another thing... when I stop to think about 
> it.... I dont see any data supporting the idea that the basic Steinway 
> back scale idea doesnt work.  I just hear a lot of claims.  

I wasn't commenting on that. However, since you bring it up, I claim to have no claims - only an opinion - I don't care much for them, IMHO they are rather noisy.

> Today I used 
> a bit  of ekstra time tuning the top 6 notes on a C I service. I tuned 
> the back lengths to exactly the same frequency as the  speaking 
> lengths....  I got a very clear and definite improvement in sound. Much 
> cleaner, increased sustain and volume.  At least thats what my ears told 
> me, and it seemed pretty darned obvious. 

Okay. I've never tried to tune them to anything. Maybe I will some day.
 
> Cheers
> RicB

PS:

Welcome back!

Last week I tuned a piano for a woman who just moved back to the USA from 8 years in Germany. We talked about the laid-back lifestyle and attitude that seems to prevail in Europe (and Scandinavia, no doubt) compared to here in the USA. I really haven't had a vacation in 19 years, unless you call four days at a PTG convention a vaction. I envy that lifstyle. It sounds very good.

> 
>    ----- Original Message -----
>     >> /"On any given string, the duplex segment will not match the
>    pitch of the
>     >> speaking segment of the sting. (It cannot because these two
>    segments are
>     >> different lengths)."/
>     >>  Since when? I mean, assuming the duplex segment was somewhere
>    close to
>     >> being "tuned".
>     >>  Terry Farrell
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