[CAUT] WAPIN INSTALLATION: LIVE!

[Tim Coates]

David,

It was Michael Wathen you spoke with before Rochester.  I hope to get 
him to enter this discussion to answer your questions because there 
have been many scientific studies done.   Some by technicians who don't 
claim to be scientists and some by true scientists who don't claim to 
be piano technicians.

We are working with Dr, Stephen Birkett.    Dr. Birkett contacted us 
before Rochester and I worked with him there doing before and after 
high speed video of a Wapin Bridge installation.  There were four notes 
chosen to study.   The only changes made to the piano was the bridge 
pin configuration.

Three of the notes were sabotaged by someone at the convention so we 
were only able to video one note after.  Tape stuck between the 
windings of the bass note and that is the only reason we had an after 
note to work with.  Someone didn't want the experiment to be finished.  
Makes you wonder doesn't it?

I know you have not seen our banner, but it is actually the spectrum 
analysis of a piano before and after.   The piano in question was 
retrofit with nothing done but the bridge pins reconfigured.  Many of 
you will say "That's not possilbe".  Well, it is.  The piano was 
recorded before and after the retrofit.  The recordings were put into 
software that analyzes the entire piece and the graph is the result.   
There are four other studies I know of that analyze the piano with 
spectrums showing the change.

The most important studies being done we believe are by Dr. Stephen 
Birkett.  He is someone piano technicians know and trust.  The bottom 
line:  a picture is worth a thousand words.  What we have seen thus far 
reveals even more than what we had thought.  Stephen, Michael and 
myself will be gathering in the future to work on a very controlled 
experiment.

As I said, I hope to get Michael Wathen to enter this discussion.  He 
has been insulted and brow beaten by people on this list and I'm not 
sure he has time for that kind of behavior.  We'll see if he responds.

Tim Coates

On Nov 5, 2006, at 4:42 AM, David Skolnik wrote:

> Tim, Mack & all -
> Tim, I believe we spoke, at some length, shortly before Rochester, 
> when I was still expecting to attend, which ultimately I was unable to 
> do.  (If it was not you, then it may have been Michael Wathan)  A 
> number of my questions were addressed, but between my memory and a 
> recent move, which, for the moment, has displaced my notes, I am 
> unable to recall some of the technical explanations you (or he) were 
> gracious enough to provide.
>
> The problem I see, as demonstrated by this current thread, is twofold: 
> 1) the absence of a clearly stated explanation of how this 
> modification produces the effects claimed, or observed, and 2) the, as 
> yet, inability to construct an experiment which would satisfy 
> generally accepted scientific criteria.  Neither the web site, nor, if 
> I recall correctly, the patent, actually do this.  With regard to the 
> first, would it be possible to engage in such a conversation, or do 
> you feel it would necessitate divulging what you feel to be 
> 'proprietary' information? As for an experiment, have you spoken with 
> Stephen Birkett?  It would seem likely that, with the work he has been 
> doing, he would have the means(though maybe not the time) to provide 
> as exhaustive an experiment as can be done. (With pictures!?)  What I 
> would want to see is a full set of data (spectrum and, if possible, 
> visual) before and after, with the ONLY change being the repinning of 
> the particular note(s) being tested.  No new board, or cap. A single 
> variable.  Maybe I'm misguided or misinformed, but a carefully crafted 
> experiment would go a long way towards moving the discussions about 
> WAPIN away from the subjective.
>
> In any case, I hope Mark's event is successful, both musically and 
> socially.
>
> Best -
>
> David Skolnik
> Hastings on Hudson, NY
>