<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> Joe, I think you are right. I thought about that just after I sent the post.  The "onset partials" when the hammer first strikes the string are of crucial importance, certainly for perception of timbre, and probably for tuning.  Best regards, David. <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">No. 2 I don't think would work. Think about the difference between plucking a string and activating one with the hammer. The tone and harmonic spectrum is different, as far as I've been able to ascertain. I suspect that that would create an even different tonal/harmonic spectrum. Thoughts from others? Joe </pre> </blockquote> </body> </html>