<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html>   BobDavis88@aol.com wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  Hafta say I ain't buying this. The excursion of the string is so slight that I can't believe that an object 1/2" away could cause air to offer much impedance. I'm willing to bet if I held my thumb 1/2" from the string right above the strike point, no one could tell me when it was there and when it wasn't, blindfolded.</blockquote> Cant say I blame you. Does sound a bit fantastic.... to put it mildly. But next time you run into a grand that has obviously high checks you can try this out. Take any old note...maybe say A4 :), get a sense for its volume and compared with its neighbors. Run a few chromatics up and down. Then lower its back check to exactly 2 mm under the tail at drop and listen again. See what you think. I dunno, maybe you wont buy it then too. Maybe its like the proverbial green light at that last millisecond of sunset at sea..... But I do know what I heard. <blockquote TYPE=CITE>Sorry I don't have something more positive to offer as an explanation for optimal checking=louder tone. I'll be watching this space anxiously. Bob D</blockquote>  RicB -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. UiB, Bergen, Norway <A HREF="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A> <A HREF="http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html">http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html</A> <A HREF="http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html">http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html</A>  </html>