<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2873" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello, List.  I am finally down to the wire on a 1903 short A, that has been in the works for over a year, and I am thinking that I need the input from you old hands out there.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    How much does the strike line vary in the killer octave region, when this is necessary?  I am having trouble getting consistent tone, right around  F# 5 to D6.  It is great before and after this.  I knew from the talk around the List that sometimes it is necessary to change the strike line in the Killer Octave area to achieve the best tone, but how much is workable?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    I suspected something amiss, when the hammers that were changed before, were hung at 5" instead of 5 1/8", and the bass hammers had almost no angle on them (2 or 3 degrees).  I created my own samples, and hung the rest to them (Spurlock's jigs are GREAT).  It all worked out well, except this area.  When the action is pulled out, the tone improves dramatically in that area, but how much is too much?  What has been your experiences?  I'm going to have to do something, quickly.  HELP!!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Clark A. Sprague, RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="mailto:RPcsprague4@woh.rr.com">csprague4@woh.rr.com</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>