<HTML>In a message dated 7/6/01 2:45:58 AM Central Daylight Time, caute@optusnet.com.au writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Bosendorfer hammer's strike on 1/7 of the string length and Steinway's hammers strike on 1/8 of the string length.     True or false. Because the Bose strike point is 1/7th, this makes the tone more suitable to playing with a string ensemble and in small halls and if played with an orchestra, because the 7th partial is missing and the 8th more prominent the Bose looses power. This is the story I read ? somewhere to explain why Steinways are played with orchestras and Bosendorfers are not. </BLOCKQUOTE> I didn't know Steinway was at 1/8th. I was under the impression that the maximum sound, especially in the last octave, was for 1/7th. When I first got into the business, I got an Acrosonic with all the hammers torn out. Students at the local university got mad when the school announced a tuition increase, and they decided to destroy university property to protest. Someone opened up the top of the piano, and raked out all the hammers, destroying most of the buts, and some of the wips. The university gave the piano to one of the music students, who called me to "fix a couple of dead keys." Since I didn't have samples to go by to replace the hammers, etc. I called Baldwin and they told me to cut the shank so that hammer strike point for note 88 was at 1/7 of the string length, and then to cut the rest of the shanks the same length. Since then I learned that most pianos are built basically the same. I do know Bosy's do not have the carrying power like a Steinway. But is it because of the strike point, or other reasons? Willem </HTML>