At 15:21 -0700 21/3/09, Delwin D Fandrich wrote: >I don't really like treble bridges that are 24 to 25 mm tall. I want >to end up with a bridge height of at least 30 mm at C-88. I'd say that is very conservative. In 1916, Wolfenden wrote:- ______________________________ "For many years, both long and bass bridges were cut out of 1 in. [25.4mm] beech, and were often finished under 7/8 in. [22.2mm] in height, but of late the long bridge, by general tacit consent, stands at 1-15/16 in. [33.3 mm] to 1-1/2 in. [38.1mm] above the belly, and the bass bridge from 3/4 in. to over 7/8 in. higher still. No definite proportion between the tension of the strings and the height of the bridge has been discovered. It would not be surprising were it to be found that a further increase in height was of advantage." ______________________________ In fact one English maker had already been building uprights and grands with a bridge 42 - 44 mm in height for nearly 50 years before this was written, having changed from a 1" bridge as soon as the low tension pianos were discontinued in favour of the modern scaling with the new wire. And these pianos are, without exception in my experience, powerful, clear and subtle with excellent sustain. I would go so far as to guess that, all else being equal, the taller the bridge the better. The few pianos I have, both upright and grand, that have bridges over 35mm in height, all have well-designed string scales with moderate tensions (ca. 160 lb.), and all of them are outstanding. JD
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