[CAUT] restrung D

[Fred Sturm]

On Apr 16, 2007, at 11:10 AM, Alan McCoy wrote:

> BTW, regarding that nick in the side of the bridge pins (caused by the
> string digging into it) that was the topic of a thread awhile back.  
> Anyone
> have any thoughts as to the effects of this nick on tone and  
> tuning? I'm
> guessing that the effect is negative for both (based on absolutely no
> experiment!)  But if my guess is correct, would a harder material  
> for bridge
> pins be a good idea? Bridge pins are probably #2 steel plated with  
> either
> copper or nickel, and nickel is harder than copper, right?

Hi Alan,
	Sauter uses titanium bridge pins on premium pianos (at least the  
concert grand, maybe a smaller one as well). That's one hard metal.  
Ulrich Sauter thinks it makes a difference. They also use titanium  
for a couple other bearing points, and ebony bridge cap in the high  
treble (again, concert grand). The ebony is dense, hard, and probably  
the least hygroscopically active (reaction to humidity change) wood  
around. Me, I was quite impressed by the Sauter concert grand at  
Rochester. Wish I'd had more time to spend with it. A real showcase  
of solid termination, and the crystal clear sound you get from it.
	As for finding titanium pins on the open market, it ain't gonna  
happen. Sauter has them made to order by a jeweler, as I recall. It's  
not easy material to work with. Maybe there is something intermediate  
out there that could be used, if there was enough demand.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu



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