[CAUT] What the.....?

[Fred Sturm]

However, too much negative bearing can result in nearly complete lack  
of coupling, especially if the angle of the string between the pins is  
minimal. One of the things a wire between the bridge and the string  
will do is increase the coupling to the bridge pins by increasing the  
side draft. In the photo, a fairly extreme case, the strings are all  
up on the bridge pins and not touching the wood at all. But setting  
aside DB, something that creates enough side bearing between the pins  
(if there wasn't enough already), and gets away from a condition where  
there is a very small gap between the string and the wood, leading to  
the string hitting the wood and moving away, may well improve the tone.
	But I suspect Del is right: the photo is probably somebody who wanted  
to increase DB on the "theoretical" grounds that "if some is good,  
more is better," like a number of "rebuilders" who always lowered  
plates, "re-crowned" soundboards and the like.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu
On Jan 18, 2011, at 9:31 AM, David Love wrote:

> I don’t know, I set up pianos with virtually no bearing on the bass  
> bridge all the time, by design, in fact.  Just did a new board  
> (Steinway) with pretty much zero bearing at the bottom of the bass  
> bridge.  You don’t need much bearing (if any) on the bass bridge.   
> Can even be counterproductive.
>
> David Love
> www.davidlovepianos.com
>
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf  
> Of Gerald Groot
> Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:18 AM
> To: caut at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] What the.....?
>
> Actually, it was done to increase bearing in that area of the  
> bridge. A great lack if it can cause that noisy “thwany” sound that  
> we’ve all heard.  I know of a fellow here in GR, deceased now, that  
> used that method on very old uprights to get people through when  
> they didn’t want to trade in the pianos for sentimental value or  
> what have you or when they didn’t have a lot of money to spend on  
> them but yet, wanted a better sound.  He was very good at it.  It  
> really did make a tremendous difference if the right sized wire is  
> used and placed in the right area of the bridge.
>
> No, I’ve never done it but, I’ve watched him do it many times over  
> the years.
>
> Jer
>


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