Student Question - Read only if in magnanamous mood.

[ATodd@UH.EDU]

John,
   I'm sending another one because I forgot to comment about something.
You're probably right that the primary reason for filing is not to JUST
remove the grooves. It's to improve the tone but to do that one has to file
first.
   If the strings are already pretty well spaced concentrate first, after
filing, on being sure that the hammers are traveled and burned correctly. That
could also be done first. I had to do traveling and burning on our Hamburg
D here and after doing that I HAD to file because the hammers no longer
mated to the strings. And they had just recently been filed by someone else.
   As tedious as it gets sometimes, you also need check the string leveling.
If they aren't level, the best shaping job in the world is still going to
have notes that sound bad. So block the hammers, one by one, against the
string and pluck the string to see if any string rings through.
   Especially as you get more and more advanced in doing this work, that type
of thing can really be critical in doing a good job. So start early and make
yourself do it. It'll pay off in your finished product.
   Feel free to post back, either here or privately, if you wish.

Avery Todd
University of Houston
atodd@uh.edu