<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: Sohmer Agraffe Bridges - Photos wanted! ?</title></head><body> <div>At 11:24 AM -0500 21/2/04, David Skolnik wrote:</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite>Thanks for the photos.  They are interesting, though not directly related to the Sohmer config.</blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>Indeed. I've seen a couple of images of the Sohmer set up, but sure would like to see a closer view - Ed?</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite>. . .  Just curious how you got such good pictures</blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>SLR with long focal length lens and close up bellows (an accessory sleeve which allows for close up focusing) - Nikon 35 mm slide scanner - Photoshop</div> <div>In the case of the Stuart agraffe images,</div> <div>http://overspianos.com.au/strtagr1.jpg</div> <div>http://overspianos.com.au/strtagr2.jpg</div> <div><br></div> <div>I converted them to greyscale to reduce the image size for the web.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite>Actually, one question.  Is the silicon their addition or yours? Thanks</blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>Most definitely theirs. We service the Stuart 290 at the Sydney University Great Hall, but we're tuning and voicing only. We are unlikely to be required for any rebuilding matters down-the-track when the master himself is only 1.5 hours north of Sydney.</div> <div><br></div> <div>At 9:17 PM +0100 21/2/04, Jean-Jacques Granas wrote:</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">. . . The setup visible on the second picture looks to me like one that would eliminate the stress excerted sideways upon the bridge that I alluded to in my previous post.</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>They both will, but the earlier Stuart agraffe shown in the first image will also help to roll the bridges on the board. Mr Stuart makes quite a thing of the elimination of side torque, claiming that it is one of the reasons for the 'improvement' in the tone of his instruments. I remain a skeptic on both counts.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">. . .  To me, the bridge seems the more vulnerable as it is laminated and uncapped.</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>I doubt if his bridge will have structural problems due to the laminations or the absence of a cap, since the agraffes aren't quite as hard on the bridge as a conventional pinning set up, but the 24 mm bridge height of the Stuart is probably too low. To my knowledge there is only one other contemporary concert grand manufacturer who uses 24 mm low bridges. Neither have inspired emulation.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">I just love the little string slot on picture No 2. Brilliant!!</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>The idea is potentially very good, but a wider slot would be better to provide string clearance. There will be some who doubt that the slot and string could be noisy with these agraffes since the agraffe string segments lengths are so short. But I have experienced this problem with conventional bridges where the spacing of the the bridge pins was so close in the trichord section that the strings were buzzing on the neigbouring unison pins. Unfortunately, it was a factory made bridge cap which we installed during the course of a partial rebuild. I had to inform the client that the problem was with the bridge pin layout and that it was really beyond something we had done. As a engineer and a keen amateur pianist he understood, but it remains a disappointment for both of us.</div> <div><br></div> <div>While we're on the (interesting) topic of bridge agraffes, Ron N posted an earlier example of a bridge agraffe which incorporated a in-built solution to the noise problems under discussion above, and looked economical to build. Here it is again for those of you who missed it;</div> <div><br></div> <div align="center"><img src="cid:a06002008bc5d81bd2e57@[61.8.12.134].1.0"></div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">Are such agraffes used on Stuart pianos up and down the scale, or just in the bass section?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>The entire compass is bridge agraffed.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">What does the downbearing look like on those pianos?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>I'm not sure. More than a rule would be required to ball-park it. So far I haven't gotten around to making a device for measuring it. Furthermore, the ribbing is very light (typical rib sections 20 mm wide by 20 - 21 mm deep -19 of them on the concert piano) so that it wouldn't stand for much in way of down bearing force.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> The tensions alone would clamp the string to the bridge very effectively on this setup.</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>Indeed, but I'm not sure that effective clamping of the string to the bridge is all we should be striving for. I suspect that down bearing might be required for the effective transmission of the lower partials. Now I realise that in a number of posts from credible members of this list, it has been claimed that down bearing is not necessary for the production of satisfactory tone, but I remain unconvinced at this stage.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Ron O.</div> <x-sigsep><pre>-- </pre></x-sigsep> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+1" color="#0000FF"><b>OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY</b></font></div> <div><font color="#000000"><i>   </i></font><font color="#0000FF"><i>Grand Piano Manufacturers</i></font><font color="#000000"><br> _______________________</font></div> <div><font size="-2" color="#000000"><br> </font><font color="#000000">Web http://overspianos.com.au</font></div> <div><font color="#000000">mailto:info@overspianos.com.au<br> _______________________</font></div> </body> </html>