[CAUT] A=440 once again

[Ron Nossaman]

Barbara Richmond wrote:
> I'm interested in hearing the explanation for that.  Maybe Ron N can 
> explain it.

Not in any detail. It's an impedance matching thing, I think. 
The target range through which the board responds to the 
string scale isn't very wide at best, and narrows as the piano 
ages and the board deteriorates. Killer octaves get worse in 
dry seasons for that reason, and less bad in damp, and move up 
and down scale with the seasons. It's an artifact of 
(formerly) high compression panels.
Ron N


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andrew Anderson" <andrew at andersonmusic.com>
> To: caut at ptg.org
> Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:55:09 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] A=440 once again
> 
> One thing I've noted when moving the pitch on S&S Ds is that the  
> higher you go the worse the "killer octave" gets.  I've been keeping a  
> D in a poorly controlled climate at 441 because concert lighting and  
> audience temperature change are more then enough to pull it down to  
> 440 or even lower.    We had it at 442 for a while but octaves five  
> and six sure sound a lot better lower at 441 even better at 440 or  
> lower.
> 
> Andrew Anderson