Strike Point

[Delwin D Fandrich]

At C-88? You won't find any piano with a C-88 strike point of 1/7. There has
never been any absolute consensus on the strike point along the C-88 strings but
it is usually given as somewhere between 1/12 and 1/20. The reason for the
variation is due primarily to the difficulty of measuring the strike point
precisely. Given a 50 mm speaking length a strike point of 1/12 is approximately
4.2 mm back from the termination while a strike point of 1/20 is 2.5 mm back. A
difference of only 1.7 mm. Given the shape and texture of the hammer it is
pretty difficult to measure this point with any degree of accuracy. It's easy to
do on paper or in the computer; less so in the real world. Hence the adjustable
key end plates found in the grand piano.
 
A strike point of 1/7 would be about 7.1 mm back, by the way. 
 
Del


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From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Willem Blees
Sent: May 02, 2008 11:28 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: Strike Point


Matthew

I leaned early on that the strike point of note 88 is at one seventh of the
length of the string. But sometimes that is not the ideal strike point. You
might need to adjust the strike point to get the best tone out of the piano. On
a grand, move the action in and out until G or A gives you the best sound. Then
adjust the rest of the hammers to equal the sound. Of course that might mean
doing some voicing on those notes. On an upright, you can heat the shanks and
bend each hammer until you get a good tone, again making sure it isn't a voicing
problem.  


Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Honolulu, HI
Author of 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Todd <toddpianoworks at att.net>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Fri, 2 May 2008 5:36 pm
Subject: Strike Point


Good evening,
 
I've noticed in most of the regulating manuals I've read, that they recommend
the strike point of C-88 to be about 1/8''.  Almost all the pianos I have come
to, the strike point is not 1/8''.  Most of the time, the strike point is just
below the V-bar, barely a 1/16'' in most cases.  I have never dealt with this
issue before because I seem to have an issue with it. If I were to adjust the
strike to an 1/8'', the hammers in the treble end would be off of the rest rail.
The action would be sort of slanted.
 
Do you all mess with this issue or not?
 
Matthew

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