string leveling

[Ron Nossaman]

Hi all,

I think Bill's right in saying the noises have a whole lot to do with the
"straightness" of the strings coming out of the agraffs or off the v-bar. A
wide radius bend out of the front string termination (whichever) means that
the speaking length string segment is *longer* than the distance between the
front and rear termination (bridge). This string will straighten out
slightly in the initial attack, changing pitch differently than a straighter
string in the same unison, and quickly blend back in as the wire stiffness
overpowers the diminishing amplitude of the string excursion imparted by the
hammer blow. The noises *are* worse on a hard blow than a soft one, no? I
also wonder how much the permanent bend put in a wire when it's coiled for
shipment contributes to this problem. Even under 160+ pounds of tension, I
doubt that the most perfectly installed string you can find is really
straight. Anyway, I'd say that lessening the radius of the string bends as
they come out of the agraff/v-bar and bridge is as important as leveling at
the hammer strike point. 

     
 Ron Nossaman