Bridge Pins & Nega Bearing

[william ballard]

On Apr 23, 2006, at 8:33 PM, Ron Nossaman wrote:
>> An earlier comment of mine about "having to toss out bridge pins  
>> as a coupling mechanism" in the negative bearing scenario didn't  
>> seem to raise any comments.
>
> Probably because the subject has been discussed far past the point  
> that everyone's thoroughly sick of it. At the end of the last of  
> what seems like fifty rounds, the string seating crowd swarmed out  
> into the world en mass yelling KILL KILL with fire in their eyes  
> and feeler gages in hand to prove that strings spontaneously climb  
> up bridge pins against all known physics. The avalanche of reports  
> of rampant bridge pin climbing strings still is yet to manifest,  
> but we collectively remain ever faithful to the notion. With few  
> exceptions.

I'll admit to having been snoozing while this Great Debate raged, but  
it's a little bit of a shock to wake up and find myself in the same  
paddy wagon as the mongoloid hordes you describe. <G>

>> But the strings wouldn't have to be pulled up off a bridge for  
>> negative bearing to damage the pinning.
>
> I can hardly wait to read about how negative bearing damages bridge  
> pins, and the consequences of such damage.

I'll be interested to see who makes that claim, too. I was talking  
about the pinning, ie., the integrity of the holes the pins are  
driven in. So I guess I can take it that if the bridge cap is split  
at the bridge pins, that's entirely the work of side bearing. I agree  
that you'd probably have to create several inches of negative crown  
for the string deflection in the vertical plane to come anywhere  
close to that in the horizontal plane (side-bearing). But it's hard  
to shake the notion that while positive downbearing is borne entirely  
by the bridge, negative downbearing is assigned to the bridge pins.  
The bridgepins are the means by which the strings are pulled  
downwards from a straight path. Irespectagardless of crown.

Which is why if I were to design a piano with negative crown and  
bearing in the belly, which worked, I'd look for another way of  
coupling the strings to the bridge.

I'll mark this spot in the archives, Ron, so that if someone tells me  
to find it again, I can go straight to it. (Is that coffee i  
smell....)<G>

Mr. Bill

"So come on down, for the best in fidelity"
     ...........AM radio spot for the local Radio Shack store.
(Thank you, I'll take a space between the last two words.)
+++++++++++++++++++++