Steinway "pinning" dilemma

[Jeff Tanner]

Fred,
I'll have to back Roger up on this one.  I don't have a physics degree, 
so I can't explain why, but when I repinned our D last fall for our 
faculty member's recital, her very first comment was in regards to how 
I had improved the tone.  Yes, I tapped the bridge pins and settled the 
strings to the capo, but I heard the difference in tone before I did 
those things.  Perhaps it was a psychological sensation due to the 
increased control of the mechanism.  But that was her first statement.

Jeff

On Thursday, October 9, 2003, at 05:49 PM, Fred Sturm wrote:

>> --On Wednesday, October 8, 2003 7:55 PM -0600 Roger Jolly
>> <roger.j@sasktel.net> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>> Hi Fred,
>>>
>>>                   4gms of friction seems to be the optimum for tone
>>> production, _as it keeps the knuckle firmly in contact with the
> balancier_.
> snip
>>> Regards Roger.
>
> Roger,
> 	Looking at this more carefully, I have to disagree with you as to the 
> mechanism for the tonal effect of firm pinning. From the point of view 
> of the hammer being thrown to the string, I think mass, inertia, and 
> leverage are plenty to maintain firm contact between knuckle and jack. 
> Where lack of firmness has its effect is in the wobble that is 
> introduced during the throw of the hammer, and even more so the wobble 
> upon impact with the string (ie, what the hammer does during the time 
> it remains in contact). So from a purely tonal point of view, I don't 
> think friction per se plays a role.
> 	Where it does have an effect is in the neuro-muscular response of the 
> pianist. I am convinced that a fine pianist can feel the difference 
> between 2 and 4 grams friction in a hammershank center, in terms of 
> what needs to be done to create the final velocity of the hammer, and 
> that 4 grams will be found preferable in allowing more nuanced 
> control. But even more important is evenness from note to note. Better 
> all 2 gram than higglety pigglety with an average of 4 grams.
> 	All of this is more in the realm of mental picturing than  measurable 
> physics, because it is next to impossible to separate one factor from 
> the others with any reliability. You have to assume travel, square 
> hanging of hammers, evenness of felt density and elasticity, evenness 
> of shank firmness/sponginess, etc., etc. But when all you do to a fly 
> away action is repin it, the result is usually quite dramatic, at 
> least in my experience.
>
>
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
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