<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type = content=text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2604" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY text=#000000 bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Frank,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am using the original strings in the = Pleyel, because they were in good condition and I thought it's a shame not to = preserve them.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I didn't do any breaking test on the = wire, so I'm not sure if it's similar to modern wire or not.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anyway, this is not a question of using = a different material. this is the original wire, so I think I can assume that the = piano was meant for a pitch at least as high as 440. Other postings on this topic = suggest that it was even higher.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Calin Tantareanu<BR>----------------------------------------------------<BR>&nb= sp;<A href="http://calintantareanu.tripod.com">http://calintantareanu.tripod.= com</A><BR>----------------------------------------------------</FONT></D= IV> <BLOCKQUOTE 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=frank@pianotopics.nl = href="mailto:frank@pianotopics.nl">Frank Benner</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, May 01, 2005 5:51 = PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Pitch in Paris ca. = 1860</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>Hi Calin,<BR><BR>you can only  compare a string = from a 1860 Pleyel with a 1910 Steinway if you assume they have the same kind = of string material. <BR>If this is the case, with the given length and = thickness <U>and</U> the same frequency, you will find the inharmonicity in the = Pleyel string almost <U>double</U> compared to the Steinway. The load in the = Steinway string is approx. 63,5% against a mere 43% in the Pleyel.<BR>Using = softer material will increase the load and decrease the inharmonicity. = Raising the pitch however will increase load <U>and</U> inharmonicity.<BR>I think = that using other string material will help you far more than raising pitch.<BR><BR>Frank Benner<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>