[CAUT] Sperrhake Harpsichord wire

Ron Nossaman rnossaman at cox.net
Sat Dec 5 13:56:13 MST 2009


Fred Sturm wrote:

> So okay, there are some cases where the difference in breaking % will 
> not be very significant. I did mine in the high treble, where the 
> differences are greater. Still, the trend is clear. The fact that the 
> Collins figures are rounded to the nearest % probably masks something.
> Anyone else want to calculate it?
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm

THIS is what all this was about? I'm amazed yet again! I 
thought you said you were concerned with real world stuff. 
When we have three different formulas providing three 
different values, all close enough to be well within the real 
world practical inconsistencies of the material, which one is 
gospel? I'll tell you - NONE of them are. They are all 
practical working guides for people doing REAL WORLD scaling 
on ACTUAL instruments, rather than arm chair decimal splitters 
looking for a few hour's entertainment at the expense of 
reasonable expectation. In what real world, and on what real 
instrument are you going to make a wire size change of 0.008"? 
And if you do, will that 2.7%-3% by your chosen formulas 
through that unlikely span mean the difference between the 
string breaking or not? Never mind the sound produced. In that 
REAL WORLD you were so insistent on, are you likely to deviate 
more than 0.001" on that string replacement? And wouldn't that 
calculated break% difference be at worst, a half percent by 
your formulas? And how, by any reasonable criteria, is this 
worth the time spent on this thread trying to drag useful 
information out of it? And why is it so difficult?

Ron N


More information about the CAUT mailing list

This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC