[CAUT] WAPIN INSTALLATION: LIVE!

[Otto Keyes]

> As I said, I hope to get Michael Wathen to enter this discussion.  
> He 
> has been insulted and brow beaten by people on this list and I'm 
> not 
> sure he has time for that kind of behavior.  We'll see if he responds.
> 
> Tim Coates

I wouldn't blame Michael if he choses not to respond to those who speak
from the authority of ignorance.  The only way to keep the pigeon pooh
from accumulating is to keep moving.  More power to you guys -- keep moving!

Otto


----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Coates <tcoates1 at sio.midco.net>
Date: Sunday, November 5, 2006 4:38 am
Subject: Re: [CAUT] WAPIN INSTALLATION: LIVE!
To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>

> David,
> 
> It was Michael Wathen you spoke with before Rochester.  I hope to 
> get 
> him to enter this discussion to answer your questions because there 
> have been many scientific studies done.   Some by technicians who 
> don't 
> claim to be scientists and some by true scientists who don't claim 
> to 
> be piano technicians.
> 
> We are working with Dr, Stephen Birkett.    Dr. Birkett contacted 
> us 
> before Rochester and I worked with him there doing before and after 
> high speed video of a Wapin Bridge installation.  There were four 
> notes 
> chosen to study.   The only changes made to the piano was the 
> bridge 
> pin configuration.
> 
> Three of the notes were sabotaged by someone at the convention so 
> we 
> were only able to video one note after.  Tape stuck between the 
> windings of the bass note and that is the only reason we had an 
> after 
> note to work with.  Someone didn't want the experiment to be 
> finished.  
> Makes you wonder doesn't it?
> 
> I know you have not seen our banner, but it is actually the 
> spectrum 
> analysis of a piano before and after.   The piano in question was 
> retrofit with nothing done but the bridge pins reconfigured.  Many 
> of 
> you will say "That's not possilbe".  Well, it is.  The piano was 
> recorded before and after the retrofit.  The recordings were put 
> into 
> software that analyzes the entire piece and the graph is the 
> result.   
> There are four other studies I know of that analyze the piano with 
> spectrums showing the change.
> 
> The most important studies being done we believe are by Dr. Stephen 
> Birkett.  He is someone piano technicians know and trust.  The 
> bottom 
> line:  a picture is worth a thousand words.  What we have seen thus 
> far 
> reveals even more than what we had thought.  Stephen, Michael and 
> myself will be gathering in the future to work on a very controlled 
> experiment.
> 
> As I said, I hope to get Michael Wathen to enter this discussion.  
> He 
> has been insulted and brow beaten by people on this list and I'm 
> not 
> sure he has time for that kind of behavior.  We'll see if he responds.
> 
> Tim Coates
> 
> On Nov 5, 2006, at 4:42 AM, David Skolnik wrote:
> 
> > Tim, Mack & all -
> > Tim, I believe we spoke, at some length, shortly before 
> Rochester, 
> > when I was still expecting to attend, which ultimately I was 
> unable to 
> > do.  (If it was not you, then it may have been Michael Wathan)  A 
> > number of my questions were addressed, but between my memory and 
> a 
> > recent move, which, for the moment, has displaced my notes, I am 
> > unable to recall some of the technical explanations you (or he) 
> were 
> > gracious enough to provide.
> >
> > The problem I see, as demonstrated by this current thread, is 
> twofold: 
> > 1) the absence of a clearly stated explanation of how this 
> > modification produces the effects claimed, or observed, and 2) 
> the, as 
> > yet, inability to construct an experiment which would satisfy 
> > generally accepted scientific criteria.  Neither the web site, 
> nor, if 
> > I recall correctly, the patent, actually do this.  With regard to 
> the 
> > first, would it be possible to engage in such a conversation, or 
> do 
> > you feel it would necessitate divulging what you feel to be 
> > 'proprietary' information? As for an experiment, have you spoken 
> with 
> > Stephen Birkett?  It would seem likely that, with the work he has 
> been 
> > doing, he would have the means(though maybe not the time) to 
> provide 
> > as exhaustive an experiment as can be done. (With pictures!?)  
> What I 
> > would want to see is a full set of data (spectrum and, if 
> possible, 
> > visual) before and after, with the ONLY change being the 
> repinning of 
> > the particular note(s) being tested.  No new board, or cap. A 
> single 
> > variable.  Maybe I'm misguided or misinformed, but a carefully 
> crafted 
> > experiment would go a long way towards moving the discussions 
> about 
> > WAPIN away from the subjective.
> >
> > In any case, I hope Mark's event is successful, both musically 
> and 
> > socially.
> >
> > Best -
> >
> > David Skolnik
> > Hastings on Hudson, NY
> >
>