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<DIV><FONT size=2>That makes sense. But let's take our favorite =
whipping
boy, the Steinway M. As you know, when recalculating the scale, =
one tends
to come up with a needed increase in gauges above note 50, pushing the =
tension
up a bit all the way to the top (changes across the bass tenor break are =
another
issue which I don't want to get into at this point). If the =
Steinway board
tends to be a lighter more flexible one, would you then be cautious =
about
increasing the tension up there for fear of overloading a board that is =
not
capable of dealing with that type of change?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>David Love</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=pianobuilders@olynet.com
href="mailto:pianobuilders@olynet.com">Delwin D Fandrich</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> September 20, 2002 10:09 =
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Hammers and =
scale</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=davidlovepianos@earthlink.net
href="mailto:davidlovepianos@earthlink.net">David Love</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> September 19, 2002 5:43 =
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Hammers and =
scale</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I'd be interested in hearing more on the =
relationship
between hammers and scale design. It seems that the trend in =
rescaling
is often to add tension to the upper regions of the piano, =
especially
Steinways. Is the older lower tension scale related to the =
original
size and weight of the hammer? Does a higher tension scale =
call for a
larger or harder hammer necessarily?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>David Love</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080>In general a lower tension scale =
can, and
should, use a somewhat more resilient and less massive hammer than one =
having
a higher tension scale. Of course, there should also be some changes =
in the
soundboard. The lower tension scaling will want a lighter, more =
flexible
soundboard as well. It's one of the nice things about the smaller =
Steinway
scales. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080>The theory is that a =
higher-tension string is
potentially capable of storing more energy. There are, however, a =
number
of trade-offs. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080>The heavier hammer creates more =
flex and
compression in the action components so the action reaches saturation =
sooner
and its potential velocity is lower. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080>Higher tension scales call for a =
moderately
stiffer and more massive soundboard and a slightly harder and more =
massive
hammer. Emphasis on the two words, <EM>moderately</EM> and
<EM>slightly</EM>! It's still a matter of balancing a =
well-designed
scale with a well-designed soundboard and then selecting a hammer of
reasonable mass and high resilience to work with them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000080>There is also a difference =
between a long,
thin string and a short, thick string even though <EM>tension</EM> may =
be the
same. The short, thick string is inherently stiffer and will store =
more higher
harmonic energy, less lower harmonic and fundamental energy. And, of =
course,
don't forget the influence of the backscale.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>Del</DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT =
color=#000080></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>