Piano Designers are Sadists

Avery Todd atodd@UH.EDU
Mon, 22 Jun 1998 16:59:18 -0500 (CDT)


Hi Stephen,

   Glad to see you back on the list.

Avery

>Jim commented:
>> The one insurmountable problem in designing a piano that would stay in tune
>> in the Tenor section is the fact that as the strings get longer and longer
>> as you go down thru the Tenor section, the spacing on the bridge gets wider
>> and wider. With wider string spacing on the bridge, there is less
>>
>> ..Let's hear some more new ideas. The olde guarde
>> has spoken.
>>
>
>This change in the tenor stringing is the real "advantage" of
>cross-stringing...read Henry's original patent. But there is the big
>payback, including Jim's comments, loss of registral clarity etc.
>
>We don't really need new ideas. Just go back to straight-stringing and
>design the front-end right (as the 1852 Schiedmayer I mentioned before,
>that hardly ever needs tuning)...the old guard could easily become the
>new guard.
>
>Stephen
>
>Stephen Birkett Fortepianos
>Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos
>464 Winchester Drive
>Waterloo, Ontario
>Canada N2T 1K5
>tel: 519-885-2228
>email: birketts@wright.aps.uoguelph.ca


___________________________
Avery Todd, RPT
Moores School of Music
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-4893
713-743-3226
atodd@uh.edu
http://www.music.uh.edu/




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