wire curve

[Ron Nossaman]

Hi Gang, It's me again, with another one of *these*. Let's have some fun and
see what we can learn.

I've heard a considerable number of rather vague references to accommodating
the "natural" curve of the wire when stringing. Frankly, this sounds to me
just like all the other mythology and Voodoo surrounding pianos, including
magic soundboard varnish, what flavor tuning tip you use, duplex
optimization, etc. Before you get the mob fired up, I'll try to explain.

First of all, the "natural" curve in the wire isn't natural. It's the first
permanent bend the wire suffers downhill of the drawing dies, isn't it? It's
semantics, I know, but "natural" implies that wire *should* be curved,
presumably so the stringer will have something else to fuss with while
fighting the wire into the singularly *unnatural* configurations in which
it's used in pianos.

Secondly, in what way is the curve accommodated when installing the string?
Is the idea to wind wire on the tuning pin in the same direction it's
already curved to try to minimize the trauma to the wire? Bad news gang, you
have to bend it the other way at the hitch pin, unless you want to twist the
wire a half turn (horrors!). Which is the more heinous act? Who that you
know is even CAPABLE of cranking a wire around the hitch pin against the
curve with bare hands? Then again, wire doesn't break at hitch pins, does
it? Or is the curve in the speaking length the more important? Do you want
it curving up, down, left, or right, and why? You are going to lose at the
bridge in any case.  

A string that was twisted on installation, even a little bit, has been a
handy goat for every conceivable string noise that the tech is otherwise at
a loss to explain or fix. Just how big a deal do you suppose this is? I
doubt there is a stringer on the planet that doesn't routinely put at least
a quarter turn twist in plain wire when installing it. I don't see how it's
avoidable. It's quite likely that all the plain wire installed by an
efficient stringer has the *natural* curve lying in roughly the same
direction, but that's a consequence of letting the wire go onto the tuning
pin in the way that requires minimum battle on the part of the stringer.
It's not a conscious decision to have the curve going in any particular
direction, at least in my case. The stringer will do whatever hurts the
least and is the fastest.

I'd like to hear any real reasons for orienting string curve in any
particular direction. If it's for sound production, I want to know why there
is a difference and what the difference is. If it can't be demonstrated, it
probably doesn't exist. Is there a real body of evidence to support this, or
is it just another speculative magic thing that has been generally accepted
because it sounds sort of technical?  

Well, hey, *someone* has to challenge this stuff.

 Ron