> I personally > wouldn't hesitate to consider agraffes in the bass and tenor sections on > grand pianos as more advantageous than pressure bars. > > Keith McGavern There are advantages of pressure bars (capo) in grands over agraffes in the extreme treble. By using the overhead "pressure bar" the hammer can hit the string at any point up to its upper termination. With agraffes, the striking point is pushed further down the string because of clearance problems. The main advantage of agraffes is maintaining string spacing while allowing more freedom of placement of tuning pins. At least one piano, the Chickering Aniversary Grand had half agraffes screwed into the pressure bar, thus getting the best of both worlds. Agraffes are not only more advantageous as Keith mentions but I think imperitive in the bass sections as string spacing must be constant and consistant to allow wedge dampers to work. ---ric
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