[CAUT] Bass bridge, string scale, cantilevered bridge, tone

[Fred Sturm]

The answers to Alan's question I have read don't really deal with the  
topic: an especially short scale instrument. On the topic, I happened  
today to see a Baldwin grand from around 1995, I think it said model B  
with a number after it, not something I had ever seen. It was a 4' 11"  
or so, and had a bass bridge without apron or cantilever, and the bass  
end almost touched the plate, but was undercut for the lowest eight  
unisons (not contacting the soundboard). I guess that is one way to do  
something or combination of things. It did have accujust pins so that  
probably helped matters. Not too bad a sound. Not too great either,  
but it could have used some voicing, so maybe there was potential.
	But to Alan's question, there does seem to be a tradeoff when you get  
to a really foreshortened scale. Would the sound really be better if  
you foreshortened the scale more in order to lose the cantilever? (No  
argument about changing to German loops - that's likely to be an  
unquestionable improvement). It seems like a tradeoff between what the  
string is producing and how the soundboard is transmitting, and if the  
input from the string is bad enough, the better transmission isn't  
going to make for a better overall sound. That's just pure "logical  
thinking based on limited experience in related matters." Could be  
dead wrong, but I think what Alan wanted was experience in this realm  
of the mini-scale, and I haven't seen it addressed: will the bridge  
change with the corresponding shorter scaling be capable of a better  
overall sound, worth the trouble?
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu



On Apr 30, 2008, at 2:18 PM, Alan McCoy wrote:

> Hi Jim and Ron (and others),
>
> I do not have enough first-hand experience with especially short-scale
> instruments that have been recipient of the kind of treatment that the
> Brodmann thread was about, namely new string scale with a shorter  
> speaking
> length, longer backlength, no cantilever. But I am curious about  
> what kind
> of tonal change I might anticipate if I were to rescale, say,  a  
> Kawai GE-1.
>
> Would anyone be interested in describing what would be the likely  
> tonal
> result with these changes to this short-scale piano? I know words  
> won't
> likely do justice to it, but I'd be interested to hear anyway.
>
> BTW, this isn't idle curiosity.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Alan
>
>
> -- Alan McCoy, RPT
> Eastern Washington University
> amccoy at mail.ewu.edu
> 509-359-4627
> 509-999-9512
>
>
>
>