Call for scaling spreadsheets

[Stéphane Collin]

Hi David, Ric.



There's not really a link between inharmonicity and loudness.

< Agreed.

  Choices have
to be made (hopefully) when rescaling as to a balance between smooth
tensions, inharmonicity and loudness (Z factor).  Different
manufacturers/scalers will choose different criteria to emphasize and
different shaped curves to follow.  Perfectly smooth curves in all areas are
difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.  Small jumps between sections are
common though the goal of smooth tension, in my view, should trump other
factors.

< Agreed.

Inharmonicity isn't something you really hear though it can,
obviously, effect how a piano tunes.

< Here I don't agree.  A single note with too much inharmonicity will sound 
awful, being itself way false with itself.  You hear that clearly on bass 
notes of small pianos.  With too low inharmonicity, a single note would 
loose the "piano sound" characteristic, to get closer to the organ or flute 
sound, which is ugly in a piano.


  Changes in tension and overall tension
levels have a definite impact on aural perception.

< Sure, but in my world, more tension means less sustain and less 
inharmonicity (and a harder touch feel at the key).  All of these could not 
be a good thing.


I'm not sure yet about
the loudness factor.  I find inconsistencies in the numerical data and my
perceptions.  Soundboard and bridge design, of course, will interplay with
scaling for overall impact and certain perceptual details.

< Sure.  But when I meant projection, I didn't mean loudness.  You have 
pianos that sound very loud at 1 or 2 meters around them, but the loudness 
decreases rapidly with the distance.  Others (I have a particular and 
amazing straight strung 1873 Bechstein in mind) seem to have some obscure 
acoustic feature that makes them carry their sound way farther effortless, a 
bit like some venues acoustics (I think of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, 
Netherlands,  here) where at the very back of the place, you still hear the 
tongues in the throats of the singers.  I believe this has to do with 
inharmonicity, not only with loudness.  Harmonic sounds can (do) cancel each 
other.

What do you think ?

Stéphane Collin.