The Duplex affect

[Erwinspiano at aol.com]

Hi all
  Michael Spreeman reminded me of the difference of opinions regarding  this 
subject recently & I remarked to him that I was by in Large a nay  sayer. Many 
on this list in the course of our discussions about belly work have  also 
been less than enthusiastic about the actual affect if any of the rear  Steinway 
invented by the same. IE. the part that sits behind the bridge. I  for sure 
want to go on record to say that the duplex scale is highly over rated  & isn't 
a magic bullet that most copy cat manufacturers would have the  public beleive.
 
  &..... I  remain the primarily of the same opinion but I  submit an 
interesting experience that happened to me the other day.
  I was in Los Angles following up on a 1905 Victorian Steinway   A-2. I did 
a rib crowned belly job last Dec. It got everything else new as well  as new 
key set & beautiful Ronsen Bacon felt hammers. On this A I  removed the bass 
cantalever (first time)  which has been a dynamic  unqualified improvement. It 
now has a huge bottom end the likes of which I've  not encountered in an A-2.
The client who tunes as well as plays has massive ears & is a  very good 
player of Jazz to classics. After 10 months of  play in I recently received a 
request that I bring up the brightness level  of the piano just ever so slightly. 
I added 3 to 6 drops of very thin  plastic on the string cuts in octaves 3 & 4 
& also octave 5  & the very top 8 notes with  thicker plastic.
  After 10 minutes use  with a hair dryer to cure the plastic  the level of 
harmonic blending came up to a place where the tone just  launched into this 
new level of ethereal sounding amazing stuff that was  sucking  the music out of 
my finger tips. Anybody ever experience  this?  Uh huh.
  AS I sat & played it a bit myself I was sensing a sound, as if  Keith 
Jarrett himself was humming along with me as he does on his  recordings.  It was 
really cool.  It sounded like singers singing  softly &  slightly under the 
texture of the body of the piano tone. It  was such a wonderful sound. As I 
listened more closely I started plucking  the rear duplex in the first capo area & I 
could hear these sounds in the  music as he played. It was then I realized 
the sound I was hearing was possibly  coming from this duplex.
  I am fully aware that  a great tone comes from many things in a  belly that 
is functioning at maximum capacity & perhaps the duplex isn't all  that 
affective unless all those things  are. It was great fun  & I  was stunned and 
enthralled by the entire experience.
  Food for thought?
  Dale



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