Agraffes in uprights

[Ron Nossaman]

> Hi Ron and others,
> 
> Thanks for all the responses.  You asked for my opinion on the topic, so
> here it is:
> 
> I can think of no configuration with agraffes that would improve, and not
> degrade, the high treble sections, as opposed to the pressure bar, although
> I have considered a combination of half-agraffes with the pressure bar.  I
> do like agraffes in the bass and tenor sections.  The bi-chord unisons
> would benefit the most from agraffes, since it makes equal string lengths
> within each unison more achievable.  I also like the half-agraffes (top cut
> off), for ease in (re)stringing.  My only reservation about half agraffes
> is in the lowest few notes of the piano.  It is often not possible to avoid
> considerable side bear coming from the agraffe or agraffe pin to the tuning
> pin for these few lowest notes of the piano.  I don't trust a half-agraffe
> to be adequate to deal with the side bearing for these few notes.  I take
> enough time to insure that the tuning pin alignment is such that string
> spacing should not be a problem, and therefore not a significant benefit
> from agraffes.  I am still mulling it over, and have not decided exactly
> how to deal with these issues, but I'll let you know when I have a final
> configuration for my next upright design.
> 
> Frank Emerson


Hi Frank,
I seriously doubt there is any real performance benefit to 
agraffes anywhere in the scale of a vertical piano. Bichord 
unison lengths can be accommodated easily enough by bridge 
notching, and are less critical that low in the scale in any 
case. As you indicated, staying awake through the tuning pin 
location portion of the program should preclude string spacing 
problems through the pressure bar sections, so that should be 
adequately covered. I don't realistically see much point to 
giving restringing consideration to the use of half agraffes. 
We've strung a lot of pianos where no such concessions were 
made and survived relatively (relatively, that is) intact. 
What do you suppose the percentage of new manufacture that 
will eventually be restrung to be, out of curiosity? Across 
the board, I'd be utterly amazed if it were over 2% in the 
Chinese product world.

So it seems to me to be a matter of how much attention to pay 
to that man behind the curtain. Marketing wants it, for 
marketing reasons. So lacking detectable technical benefit, 
it's purely a marketing concession. If I were in your 
position, I'd ask myself who was designing the piano - the 
engineer, or the marketing department. This is, clearly, why 
I'm self employed...

Good luck,
Ron N