<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16640" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080><SPAN class=281393218-03052008>At C-88? You won't find any piano with a C-88 strike point of 1/7. There has never been any absolute consensus on the strike point along the C-88 strings but it is usually given as somewhere between 1/12 and 1/20. The reason for the variation is due primarily to the difficulty of measuring the strike point precisely. Given a 50 mm speaking length a strike point of 1/12 is approximately 4.2 mm back from the termination while a strike point of 1/20 is 2.5 mm back. A difference of only 1.7 mm. Given the shape and texture of the hammer it is pretty difficult to measure this point with any degree of accuracy. It's easy to do on paper or in the computer; less so in the real world. Hence the adjustable key end plates found in the grand piano.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080><SPAN class=281393218-03052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080><SPAN class=281393218-03052008>A strike point of 1/7 would be about 7.1 mm back, by the way. </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080><SPAN class=281393218-03052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080><SPAN class=281393218-03052008>Del</SPAN></FONT></DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left> <HR tabIndex=-1> <FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Willem Blees<BR><B>Sent:</B> May 02, 2008 11:28 PM<BR><B>To:</B> pianotech@ptg.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Strike Point<BR></FONT><BR></DIV> <DIV></DIV><WBR>Matthew<BR><BR>I leaned early on that the strike point of note 88 is at one seventh of the length of the string. But sometimes that is not the ideal strike point. You might need to adjust the strike point to get the best tone out of the piano. On a grand, move the action in and out until G or A gives you the best sound. Then adjust the rest of the hammers to equal the sound. Of course that might mean doing some voicing on those notes. On an upright, you can heat the shanks and bend each hammer until you get a good tone, again making sure it isn't a voicing problem.  <BR><BR> <DIV style="CLEAR: both">Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<BR>Piano Tuner/Technician<BR>Honolulu, HI<BR>Author of <BR>The Business of Piano Tuning<BR>available from Potter Press<BR>www.pianotuning.com</DIV><BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: Matthew Todd <toddpianoworks@att.net><BR>To: pianotech@ptg.org<BR>Sent: Fri, 2 May 2008 5:36 pm<BR>Subject: Strike Point<BR><BR> <DIV id=AOLMsgPart_2_2979a976-2b05-4de7-8e49-8f44b9cf3f92> <DIV>Good evening,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I've noticed in most of the regulating manuals I've read, that they recommend the strike point of C-88 to be about 1/8''.  Almost all the pianos I have come to, the strike point is not 1/8''.  Most of the time, the strike point is just below the V-bar, barely a 1/16'' in most cases.  I have never dealt with this issue before because I seem to have an issue with it. If I were to adjust the strike to an 1/8'', the hammers in the treble end would be off of the rest rail.  The action would be sort of slanted.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Do you all mess with this issue or not?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Matthew</DIV></DIV> <DIV class=aol_ad_footer id=u8CA7AFDF4DA66E2-13D0-319A><FONT style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black"> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> Plan your next roadtrip with <A title=http://www.mapquest.com/?ncid=mpqmap00030000000004 href="http://www.mapquest.com/?ncid=mpqmap00030000000004" target=_blank>MapQuest.com</A>: America's #1 Mapping Site.</FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>