Bridge Seating (was Re: Where to notch a bridge, & relative effects ????? (Advice sought)

[Jonathan Finger]

I understand that I have yet to achieve heavy-weight status on this 
list, and as such my post will not seem as authoritative as some, but in 
general I think there are some benefits to seating strings.
To say a string can never become un-seated is to assume it was seated 
properly in the first place.  Having worked in the factory setting, and 
in the rebuilding shop, I can tell you that many pianos are coming out 
of the factory with sloppy string work. 
I don't see why there's a "don't try this at home" attitude for this 
sort of thing. 
Not only would I encourage techs to seat strings more often, but bridge 
pins as well. (for different reasons)
Scaring techs away from doing detailed work isn't going to raise the bar 
and create technicians out of tuners. 
If you think seating strings might help, try gently seating them.  Get a 
brass drift, and a very light hammer, and try tapping a few right at the 
pin, and at the bend (trying to "confirm" the bend in the string).
I don't see the harm in this if done with care (though I'm almost 
positive I'll be lambasted for making such an ignorant remark).

What do I know...  I don't have the decades of experience with pianos 
that some here do - only a decade of experience with a little shop in 
Colorado known for doing semi-decent work on semi-decent pianos.

Sorry if this has sounded a bit cynical - it's just a bit much sometimes 
with all the sarcasm oozing out of the screen into my lap.  If the 
topics of discussion here are too exasperating, why add to them?

signed - a proponent of open discussion