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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear list,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks, all, for your thoughtful =
suggestions and
leads!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It's nearly unanimous that I need the =
experience of
a master in order to rescale my piano and tweak it to its optimal
performance. I do agree that there is a lot of magic to =
anything
acoustic, especially anything as complicated as a piano. =
Eventually I will
follow this advice, but my immediate goal is to restore the piano to
functionality (including with factory spec scaling), to allow myself and =
the
piano time to grow together, and to allow the piano time to settle in =
(e.g. to
the new tensions on the treble end of its sounding board). =
Changing a
string diameter here or there is a job that can be done =
later.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The good news about the wires is that =
they are not
ALL .041" dia. Perhaps only 1/2 to 2/3 of it is this diameter -- =
yes, all
the way from 21 through 88. I has falsely assumed that the =
diameters would
follow a progression of SOME sort and would not simply be random. =
Silly
me! Live and learn. Anyway, after measuring seemingly every =
wire in
the tenor/treble (not to mention destroying my last tuning job =
<grrrr>)
and after identifying a number of wires that seem to be factory =
originals --
perfect coils on the ends of very rusty wires, trimmed perfectly to =
length -- I
was able to reconstruct most of the piano's scale. Much of this =
was based
on the assumption that a wire being shared between notes would =
indicate the
same diameters being used for the other two wires on those two notes =
(safe
assumption???). As for the replacement wires, some were =
carefully
bent and placed, and others were strung quite sloppily. My guesses =
for the
correct diameters on the completely rewired notes are based on the wires =
that
are oldest and most competently installed. I also assumed =
that the
span inbetween two original wires of the same diameter was occupied by =
wires of
the same diameter. Anyway, I ended up with the =
following:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Note Dia</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>21-28 .045 =
original</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>29-36 .043 =
original</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>37-44 .041 =
original</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>45-51 .040 =
original</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>52-58 .0385 =
original</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>59/60 .0375 (.0375, =
.036, .037
used)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>61/62 .035 (.035, =
.034, .0375
used)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>63/64 .034 (.034, =
.0345, .034
used)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>65/66 .0325 (.0325, =
.036, .0375
used)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>67/68 .036 (.036, =
.036, .034
used)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>69/70 .035 (.035, =
.037, .0375
used)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>71/72 .035 (.035, =
.036, .037
used)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>73/74 .036 =
original</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>75/76 no competent =
replacements
-- .041 only</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>77/78 .030 probably =
original (and
two newer .041s)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>79/80 .030 probably =
original (and
two newer .041s)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>81-86 no competent =
replacements
-- mostly .041</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>87/88 .030 probably =
original (and
two newer .041s)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>More good news: Someone on this =
list
responded privately to let me know he has access to another 9' Wissner =
(a 1939
-- only 6 yr different) that is apparently all original (and predicably =
worn
out). Hopefully he can get some wire dia measurements for me to =
help me
fill out the rest of this scaling pattern. (Thanks!!) =
Whatever data
can't be filled in from measurements on that Wissner can be filled in =
from the
various resources that have been offered/recommended on this list. =
This
will give me a good starting point, and I can work from =
there.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Even more good news -- As might be =
predicted, the
notes in the treble that sound REALLY awful and have very little sustain =
are the
ones with gross diametric differences (seemingly the greatest predictor) =
and
with otherwise oversized wires (second best predictor). I also =
discovered
a lot of surface irregularities on the capo bar which probably account =
for
ringing in some of the strings. (It was very badly resurfaced =
apparently in the last rebuild, and the too-tight .041 wires probably
contributed to its grooving.) Anyway, I think the piano will sound =
markedly better once I have a chance to replace the strings with =
new ones
of reasonable/original diameter, clean up the bearing points, resurface =
the capo
bar, etc. I'm very excited to have identified these =
problems.
:)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anyway, I really appreciate all =
the advice
everyone has given me. I think I'm off to a good =
start.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>One more question, though, that might =
relate more
to hammers placement/design than to stringing, per se -- I'm perplexed =
by the
curvature of the bearing points along the capo bar, as compared to the =
evenness
of the bridge pins. The result is that the unisons are of =
differing
lengths AND that a hammer oriented parallel to the strings will strike =
the
unisons at different proportional distances along their speaking =
lengths,
resulting in a phasing difference in the vibrations of the three =
strings.
Isn't this a rather odd aspect of piano design, especially in a finicky =
area
such as the treble? Wouldn't it make sense to cut hammers on a =
slight
bias, so that their "perpendicular" surfaces follow e.g. 7/8 the =
curvature of
the capo bar, thus resulting in the same phasing of the initial impulse =
with
respect to the unisons' speaking length? According to my =
measurements on
the Wissner, the required bias would be approx. 85 deg at =
(i.e. 5 deg
variance from right-angle cut) at note 52, graduating to 92 deg at
note 88. Does anyone ever do this, and if so, what are the =
results?
.... or am I simply obsessing over minutiae. I would appreciate =
any
commentary.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks, all!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peace,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah</FONT></DIV>
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