<!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 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#d8d0c8> <DIV><FONT size=2>I'm just wondering -- to what extent is it feasible = to rescale a piano without changing the bridge (if ever)?  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>I'm thinking of replacing the bass strings on my = mom's 1948 Chickering console, which I understand is a design that could greatly = benefit from rescaling.  While replacing strings is within my skill level, = redoing the bridge is not.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>OK, I had to go look up the formula relating string = length, pitch, tension, and mass: <A href="http://www.speech.kth.se/music/5_lectures/conklin/strings.html">h= ttp://www.speech.kth.se/music/5_lectures/conklin/strings.html</A></FONT><= /DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Holding pitch and length constant, that leaves = tension and mass to play with, which are inversely proportional.  I've read = that this particular scale design has a high breaking strength.  Would it = sound better with heavier strings at lower tension?  And is it practical = to rescale just the bass?  There seems a danger of making the treble = break stick out even worse.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>--Cy Shuster--</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Rochester, MN</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>