tapping strings

[David Skolnik]

Ron -
I'm not sure what you mean my not a working piano. I see this condition 
with even more extreme numbers all the time, including on new pianos. Mind 
you, I DO think it's a problem.

David Skolnik

At 08:05 AM 04/05/2002 -0600, you RonN wrote:
>David,
>This is precisely the reason I qualified my remarks with the premise of
>positive bearing. My comments on string seating have also, for the most
>part, been addressed to the practice of seating strings to cure false
>beats. With a negative front bearing, the example you give here isn't a
>working piano and you probably aren't describing false beats as a "twang".
>There is no mystery as to why the string isn't well seated on the bridge in
>this case, but it is relevant in one regard. Seating the string won't fix
>this problem either, but it is unlikely that damage will be done to the
>bridge cap in the attempt - in this case.
>
>Ron N


> >Ron N qualified his remarks by defining his conceptual model as having the
> >theoretically ideal downbearing configuration, positive on both front and
> >back, but not too much.  Sorry mate, I haven't seen one of these creatures
> >in much too long a time.  So let's try a different model:
> >
> >Let's suppose I have front bearing of  (-).006" with positive net .004"
> >(rear bearing + .010") as measured with Lowell gauge.  (From the point of
> >view of assessing termination characteristics, these numbers are deceptive,
> >but that's for a different posting).
> >The tendency for the string to ride up the pin will be resisted by the
> >pin's cant, but we can assume that, at some point in time, that string will
> >come up.  Let's say I get a little tell-tale twang.  My options are to tap
> >string for temporary (?) improvement or to allow string to remain at the
> >equilibrium point it has arrived at, thereby maintaining greater tuning
> >stability.  As far as where you tap, I suspect its a bit like the
> >accelerated action dichotomy, in that you could tap the string somewhere on
> >the bridge, using greater force, or right at the pin, using less force.  As
> >with most other aspects of piano work, with proper care, I don't believe
> >tapping NEED be injurious.
> >
> >David Skolnik