On 3/9/97, Robert Scott <rscott@wwnet.com> rote: <<There seems to be myth that holds that inharmonicity is affected by voicing. I would like to resolve this issue one way or the other.>> I'm curious. The inharmonicity (the ratios among the patrial frequencies) is a fnction of the actual material which vibrates (either carbon steel or L'Eggs Nylon), its tension, and the nature of its termniations (especially ,the mass and behavior of the soundboard panel). The hammer contributes nothing to the actual raios and really does nothing more than start the string in motion. It does this by displacing (deforming) the string. I can't understand how the string would notice whether a given displacement had been acomplished by a hard hammer or a soft hammer. Obviuosly the relative strengths of the partials would notice, as would their decay rate. If you can observe differences in inharmonicity by taking a hard hammer, then stetching some thick nameboard felt around it. I'd be interested to know. And I do undertsand that the elevated pitch during the prompt sound is consistent across the spectrum of partials, and thus not affecting the ratio of frequencies among them. Bill Ballard RPT NH Chapter "We mustn't underestimate our power of teamwork." Bob Davis
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