[CAUT] Shank Pitch

[Jim Busby]

Ric,

My point was only that pinning irregularities (along with some other factors) can also cause differences in tone. While your teacher's demonstration showed something, how would you know it is shank differences and not something else w/o taking off a shank and thumping it? I'm not trying to "be contrary" as someone else said, it's just that this demonstration of thumping a block of wood, then taking off the shank and showing the shanks are indeed different (bad?) would be a very good trick to know. You answered that below by saying that they replaced the bad shanks. This may be easier than all this weighing/measuring of shanks! (Hence my query) That's why I thought what you said was very important.

BTW, Chris won't publish the pinning studies. He said they were not extensive enough, but that they basically showed him that tone is indeed affected by loose/tight pinning. (Something most of us accept, but many do not, and thus don't repin often) I've heard that David Stanwood has some "adjustable flanges" that have some kind of screw adjustment to increase/decrease friction, and that this has a marked affect on tone. I'd sure like to see a study on that! It would disprove Steinway's assertion (In their manual) that "A flange may have zero friction as long as there is no side play..." This is simply bunk, IMO.

Regards,
Jim Busby



-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Richard Brekne
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 3:18 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: [CAUT] Shank Pitch

Hi Jim

I have never run into the studies you mention Chris presented. That
said, I notice a change in piano sound as a whole between loose pining
and appropriately tight pinning. That goes off in another direction
however and has to do with the solidity of the hammers impact with the
strings.  Are you saying that Chis could demonstrate a difference in
shank resonant frequency because of pinning differences ?

In anycase, no... Steinway did not remove and check the pinning. The
simply marked the bad shank(s) and replaced them. Given the uniformity
of the pinning at that point in the manufacturing process, I'd doubt
that pinning would be in the picture regardless.

It would be pretty easy to look into what effect (if any) pinning could
have on a shanks resonate frequency tho. Just do the same resonance
block and do a before and after check.

Cheers
RicB



    Ric,

    Good info. Do you think, though, that it could have been other
    factors too? I mean, Chris Robinson did some studies that showed a
    marked difference in tone by the differences in pinning. (I think DS
    did this too?) Did your teacher actually take shanks off, tap them,
    etc. and prove this to your satisfaction, or was it just his theory?
    (Probably very well-educated theory, but if it ain't shown to me I'm
    kind of skeptical)

    Regards,
    Jim Busby