bridges/seating

[FSSturm@aol.com]

I agree with the notion that what makes the most difference is straightening
out the string at the bridge pin (actually giving it a finish bend to start
it off in a straight line to the agraffe or capo). Also agree that strings do
sometimes ride up off the bridge. Tapping used to be my method of attack,
until I noticed under stage lighting (on a concert grand) that I could detect
bends in the wire. The light would create reflections that, if you move your
eyes a little to change the angle, would travel down the length of the wire,
and I could detect little offsets in the way the reflection travelled. I
thought this might explain some falseness I had noticed in the strings, and
was probably caused by my own well-intentioned tapping to eliminate false
beats.
Now, maybe I had just tapped too hard. But I decided to play it safe and
remove the hammer or heel of my hand from the picture altogether. Instead, I
use a tool I made out of brass in the general design of the old "false beat
eliminator". (1/8" x 1" brass, about 10" long, with a groove filed in the end
lengthwise - down the middle of the 1/8" - and a small bend across the 1"
axis. A piece of leather on the end opposite the groove to make it easy on
the hand). I apply this tool at a 45 degree angle to the string, about two
inches from the bridge pin, and push the string toward the bridge/pin,
sliding the tool toward the bridge in a constant movement. Much easier to do
or demonstrate than describe.
I find this is an efficient way to get the job done, and useful for
stabilizing new strings as well.

Regards,
Fred Sturm, RPT
Albuquerque, NM