German Loop / French Loop / English Loop ?

[John Delacour]

At 1:38 am +0100 23/12/06, Ric Brekne wrote:

>https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20061222/5962d181/attachment-0001.jpg
>
>This loop is routinely called the French Loop here in Norway... at 
>least by those I know.  I was under the impression that the English 
>Loop was a single round version of the double german.....

Pictured below are (top) the English, or American, _eye_ and (below) 
the single German _eye_ -- Ose in German, oeuillet in French.  The 
double German eye takes two turns round the hitchpin before the 
finishing coils.  The tag on the German eye can also point in the 
other direction and the number of finishing coils varies from 1 to 3 
generally.

In my book these are not loops but eyes.  The plain steel scale of 
most pianos is strung with loops and the occasional (German) eye at 
the breaks.  A loop is what you get at the hitchpin when a single 
length of wire serves two strings.





I have never come across German eyes on the covered strings of a 
French piano.  Erard, Pleyel and Gaveau all used the English style of 
eye but in length these are generally 30-35 mm. long with the spiral 
twist far more tightly wound than on non-french makes.  French 
string-makers also favoured a very long pointed swaging at the end of 
the copper.

Nearly all English makers have used English eyes.  Brinsmead 
(probably for the reasons put forward in this thread, used the double 
German eye for the covered strings of the uprights, and Kirkman used 
English eyes throughout the scale -- very unusual.

If I were to distinguish a "French eye" I'd describe it as a very 
tightly wound English eye.

JD
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