string termination

[Joe And Penny Goss]

Well Carl,
If you wants common cents <G>
When I's plucks my bass pulling the string in a up motion on my bass I gets
a ping sound. If it is pulled to the side, more of a deep full bassey sound.
But that is probibly not the kind of answer you are after. Also the same
kind of results of a sort if the string is excited near the bridge, a thin
sound. And away from the bridge a deeper fuller sound. Your search may raise
more questions for you.
Hope you can find your answer.
Joe Goss RPT
Mother Goose Tools
imatunr@srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Meyer" <cmpiano@comcast.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 6:12 PM
Subject: string termination


> A lot of things about string terminations have bugged me for some time.
>
> Ron Overs (who I respect) promotes hardening of the capo bar, yet the
> agraffe is a relatively soft material (brass).  The difference is that the
> capo is straight and the agraffe is round.  Wouldn't the agraffe last
longer
> if it were heavily plated with chrome, nickel or??  Oh I forgot, piano
techs
> love brass, felt and wood.
>
> Now under normal circumstances, the piano string is terminated (pivoted)
on
> the top surface of the agraffe.  Let's call that North.  Let's call the
> bottom of the agraffe South.  The other two surfaces would be called east
> and west.
>
> At the bridge, the string is terminated at maybe SSE (south south east).
>
> Wapin claims that their vertical bridge pin encourages the string to
vibrate
> in the horizontal direction quicker before the energy has been dissipated
in
> the vertical mode and hence -longer sustain.
>
> Let's make it a given that the impact of the hammer is in a northern
> direction.
>
> Stuart of Australia claims that their bridge termination increases the
> vertical vibration of the string.   Hmmmm?  How does that effect the
> sustain????
>
> My esteemed colleuge from one of the fly over states suggests that a
string
> starts out vibrating vertically, slowly starts to drift horizontally but
> never gets to true horizontal.  He also suggests that a string tends to
> vibrate at 90 degrees of its termination.  I want to find out if that is
> true.
>
> I don't really know, but it has been my assumption (maybe in error) that
the
> string vibrated vertically, slowly drifts elliptically, approaches
> horizontal, then elliptically in the other direction and then returns to
> vertical at a much lower level.  This would then be a cyclical phenomenon.
> Sorry for the flurry of five dollar words.
>
> I've been thinking of a new bridge termination scheme for rebuilding  but
> I'm not going to proceed till I answer a basic question.
>
> Here's my question:  A vibrating string has two terminations.  It is
excited
> in the northern direction.  (Ignore the strike point)  What effect on tone
> will be the termination of the two ends of the string????? Both north, one
> north and the other south, east or west????   Or no big difference??
>
> I have recently found plans on the net to build an led stroboscope.  I
will
> build this and look at a string under vibration. I could stretch a wire
> across my garage and look at it with different terminations.
>
> If some of you deep thinkers have an answer to my question that makes
common
> sense, I won't have to do this.  Give me your feedback.  Thanks
>
>
>
>
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