String breakage in Seiler pianos

[V T]

Hello List,

Ed Foote wrote:

"...We have a very bright Steinway D that is played
constantly. I restrung it in 1984 with Mapes wire.  It
has never broken a string (20 years and several sets
of hammers)..." 

Ed's post made me think about the mechanism of string
breakage.  I would guess that the string is most
likely to break when the first reflection from the
bridge returns and hits the agraffe or capo.  The
magnitude of the reflection is a function of the
impedance match between the string and soundboard, so
it would seem possible that a piano with a high
reflection coefficient at the bridge is harder on the
strings.  As Andre mentioned, regulation and voicing
would also matter because the hammer dwell time
(string contact time) would have an effect on the
damping of the reflected wave too.

Vladan


		
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