[pianotech] string scale

[Dean May]

I don't know what to call it, that's why I asked the expert. ;-)

After sitting in a couple of Del's classes on the importance of backscale,
flexure of the bass strings at the hitch pins, and uselessness of bass
bridge apron, I'm dying to do a bass scale mod. I frequently look at the
bass end of pianos I tune trying to figure out what could be done. For
instance, looking at the G150 in right now for the PianoDisc install, the
entire bass bridge is on an apron. Looks like I could easily move the bridge
forward 50 mm: cut the bridge off right at the front side of the apron
w/multipurpose cutter, rip the apron off what I just cut off to separate off
the bridge, then reglue the bridge onto the remaining apron 50 mm forward of
its original position or as far as the plate will allow. This would slay two
dragons: improved backscale and reduced or no apron. Of course a whole new
bass scale would have to be calculated to boot. One of these days I'll be
courageous. 

On a G150 that I had in previously (one I own) I used my multipurpose cutter
and trimmed the ribs where they went into the rim at the bass end of the
soundboard- just to experiment. I also thinned the soundboard by a couple mm
right at the rim on the bass end for 10 or 12 inches. Results were pleasant,
seemed to have a little more fundamental in the bass. Hard to tell, really,
with the original crappy bass strings.  

BTW, table saws scare me to death so I'm very careful. In fact, I usually am
only brave enough to use it after a couple of beers. :-) The picture was a
little misleading, I was holding the jig with one hand and taking the
picture with the other (saw off), and the blade looks higher than it really
was. Not that I'd pass any OSHA test...

PianoDisc is back together after re-weighting and it sounds fabulous.
Success!

Dean

Dean W May (812) 235-5272 voice and text

PianoRebuilders.com (888) DEAN-MAY

Terre Haute IN 47802


-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Garrett [mailto:joegarrett at earthlink.net] 
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2012 6:04 PM
To: Dean May; pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: RE: [pianotech] string scale

Dean,
I would say that is part of "rescaling". There are those who do a whole
heckofa lot more and they still call it a Steinaha or whatever. I think
that is stretching it a bit, but I know that it is their intent to make it
a whole lot more of a piano than what it was originally. The one given,
that is difficult to alter, is the plate. It is the one parameter that we
have to deal with. The rest: soundboards/ribs/rim etc, is all changeable. 
Just Evaluating a Scale and making minor corrections that are dictated by
anomolies of the bridges, etc. is merely Scale Improvement to me.
What would you call it?<G>l
Best,
Joe