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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>David-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>No smiley face....more like a puzzle =
face....We tap
for different reasons, and you're right that we need to be clear which =
reason
we're tapping for.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Let me say that in practice, I'm pretty =
conservative, a slight push or very light tap in front of the pin is =
what I'll
do if I feel the tone is fuzzy or beating. Since it's part of =
Yamaha's
service system, I'll do it on a new Yamaha. In North Carolina we =
don't get
the humidity problems talked about in this thread, except in a school =
that
manages to get the music building into the low 20% range in
winter.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And I'll tap the bends on a new =
string. (I
agree that with positive front and rear bearing and a flat bridge cap, =
the
strings mostly seat themselves.) I wonder if a push or tug against =
the
bridge pin might be better than a tap.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>On the other hand, this thread is =
asking some
"deep" questions about string terminations. A few years ago Ron =
and I
discussed the possibility that bridges might work better if the caps =
were
"hollowed" in the center. I've not been motivated to do that much =
carving
to test it. Fred's post reminded me of that, and set me to wondering if =
it could
be accomplished by tapping, since we all agree that tapping can dent =
wood!
I will try it some time on a piano that's dead anyway.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The piano I'm restringing doesn't have =
serious
curve to the bridge cap, so it really isn't a good candidate. And =
that's
something to smile about. ;-)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ed Sutton</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=davidskolnik@optonline.net
href="mailto:davidskolnik@optonline.net">David Skolnik</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and University Technicians</A> =
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, April 08, 2004 =
9:00
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Strings riding up =
(was
Tuning stability)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Ed -<BR><BR>No smiley faces, so I'm not sure if you're
serious. In case you are, here's what I think:<BR><BR>At 06:02 =
PM
4/8/2004 -0400, you wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">Fred wrote:<BR>> =
The real
thrust of my musing was to consider<BR>> "going with the flow" in =
real
world situations, where recapping or bridge<BR>> replacement =
aren't going
to happen (at the particular moment). "Curvature<BR>> happens." =
Bridge
tops crush at both sides more than on top. This is what we =
find<BR>> most
often in the field.<BR>and<BR>> BTW, if anyone =
reading
really believes that light tapping doesn't =
crush<BR>bridge<BR>>
tops, take a piece of wire, lay it on a bit of exposed bridge top =
(above C8,
eg)<BR>> and give it a tap with your brass rod. Even with your =
hammer
shank. Give the<BR>> amount of tap that has "given focus to the =
tone,"
"allowed you to see the string<BR>> drop," "dropped pitch 4 =
cents,"
whatever. Then look at that bridge top. I<BR>> guarantee you'll =
see a
little groove where none was before.<BR><BR>So, this suggests we =
should be
tapping the string in the middle!<BR><BR>Not near the termination =
points,
but along the arc in the center of the =
bridge<BR>cap.</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><FONT
color=#000080>The question again is, "Why are you tapping?". What =
are you
trying to accomplish? If there IS some benefit to be gained, =
even
temporarily, it will be had by tapping either pin or in front of the =
bridge,
not on the bridge surface. If there is some negative front =
bearing,
tapping on the bridge string segment will not seat the =
string. The
question still remains whether you want, or need to seat it, against =
its
natural inclination to form a straight line. If you think seating =
improves the
tone, what's the cause?<BR><BR><BR></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">If humidity change =
can crush the
wood at the edges to make the curved string<BR>groove, then tapping
forcefully in the middle should be able to deepen the groove<BR>in =
the
middle so that the string is not lifted away from the termination =
points
at<BR>the edges.</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><FONT color=#000080>I don't think =
you're
visualizing the real configuration, but apart from that, if you =
<B>could</B>,
in fact achieve string seating like that, what would you be doing to =
your
downbearing? <BR><BR><BR></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">Would we then reach a =
point of
stability as the crushed wood becomes harder, or<BR>would we just be =
starting the process over again, so that the next rise =
in<BR>humidity
would push the edge grooves still deeper?</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><FONT
color=#000080>I am also curious whether the crushing process =
increases the
resistance to further deformation.<BR><BR></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">Let's hurry up and =
get this
figured out, I'll be restringing the next piano in<BR>about 2
weeks!<BR><BR>Ed Sutton</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>E<FONT color=#000080>d =
-<BR><BR>Great opportunity for some documentation. Are you =
willing to do
it? Measuring all the downbearing (front, rear, net, bridge
profile)? One question I would have would be how much downward =
movement
you would observe in the seating process, once the piano is under
tension. In other words, what would prevent the strings from =
seating
themselves, at least in a piano with positive front and rear
bearing?<BR><BR><BR></FONT>David Skolnik<BR><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite=""
=
type="cite">_______________________________________________<BR>caut =
list
info: <A href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives"
eudora="autourl">https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</A>
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