[pianotech] false beats

[Ron Nossaman]

On 2/3/2011 10:06 PM, Marshall Gisondi wrote:
> Hi Ron,
> Would a brass false beat eliminator be better than a screwdriver blade,
> less apt to nick the pin or slip and nick the string? or is that being
> overly causious?

Absolutely not. You are *NOT* seating the string, or even touching it. 
You are pressing the screwdriver against the *bridge pin* as a temporary 
*diagnostic indicator* of what's causing the false beat. In the capo 
section, which is where the false beat currently being discussed is, 
flagpoling bridge pins are the primary cause of false beats. Temporarily 
limiting the flagpoling with the screwdriver most likely stops the false 
beat as long as the screwdriver is there. This is *NOT* a fix. It is a 
diagnostic, indicating the problem as being the flagpoling pin. The fix 
is then preventing the pin from flagpoling, not seating the string. The 
"false beat eliminator" belongs in the trash, since it doesn't address 
the cause of the problem, and can only cause damage.

Ron N