Sanderson Scaling/Terry F

[Farrell]

The nasal sound is likely related to an unpleasant small piano. If you listen to a well scaled piano, you will have difficulty identifying where the break is between plain and wound strings on the long bridge and the break between the long bridge and the bass bridge. If you can tell where the break is just by listening, there is room for improvement.

Don't apply any rules to "I like plain wires here, or wound tricords there, or whatever.

I wish like H#!! I was a piano scaling expert. I am not. I don't have much of a clue whatsoever, except for what I hear. A good rescaler can work wonders. Many pianos have plain wires too low into the tenor. Listen to them. Often you will hear a rubber-band type of sound. That is because they designer had to lower tension in that area of the scale to arrive at the desired pitch because the speaking length is not long enough. I've been at this five years now, and only recently have I been able to identify this scaling problem with any regularity. It's like riding a bike - or a rattle in the car - once you know it, then you can hear it!

Listen to some smaller pianos that do not have any wound strings on the long bridge. You will get to know the sound.

I think the nasal sound can be worked on in smaller pianos, but ultimately, that is why they make some pianos nine or ten feet long.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Airy" <stephenairy@fastmail.fm>
To: "Piano Tech list - PTG" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: Sanderson Scaling/Terry F


> On Wed, 01 May 2002 17:52:04 -0400, "Newton Hunt" <nhunt@optonline.net>
> said:
> > > I do not want any wound strings above C3.
> > 
> > It is not what you want, it is what will fit within the confines of the
> > scale.
> > 
> > Newton
> > 
> 
> I see that I need an education.  :)
> 
> I have noticed, in similar size pianos, a difference in the sound
> between wound bichords and plain trichords.  In that range of the piano
> I happen to like plain trichords better cause to me they give a more
> solid sound, whereas wound strings have a little bit of a, for lack of
> a better term, tinny or thin or nasal sound to them in that portion of
> the keyboard.
> -- 
>   Stephen Airy
>   stephenairy@fastmail.fm
> 
> -- 
> http://fastmail.fm
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