Bass String Scale

[Michiel van Loon]

Newton,
I am happy that this is not true for all stringmakers in the world.
Here in Holland we have one called Barth Jan Kooy in Groningen.
You send him a paper pattern with all the hitch- and bridge pins and
agraffes,tell him the diameter of the last and the first string or what ever
you think is importent. And he makes a perfect bass. If he has doubts about
your data he calls and checks if you haven't made any mistakes.
Before he was in bussiness there was another firm whose I will not mention,
that just copied the strings that you sent them. They also made funy kinks
in the core wire where the copper should end.
I once got a job on a piano that someone else started working on but didn't
finish. There  were bass string made that way. I plotted them in the German
scaling program Mensurix and tossed them in my scrap metal box.
Michiel.
Meppel
the Netherlands.

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: Newton Hunt <nhunt@jagat.com>
Aan: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Datum: zaterdag 21 augustus 1999 16:21
Onderwerp: Re: Bass String Scale


>>  I have replaced two sets of 85-90 year old bass strings with sets that
actually sounded a little worse!
>
>I experienced this some 30 years ago or more and wondered why.  I got
>involved in rescaling when I unstrung a Hardman Peck that had a
>totally "wrong" set of treble strings.  I measured the speaking
>lengths and compared them to an S&S O, calculated tensions and
>adjusted the S&S scale to match the tensions for the Hardman.  Turned
>out to be a nice tuning and sounding piano.
>
>Then I started on bass strings when I called Mapes for a set of
>strings for an S&S M and told them I wanted an original factory set
>without shortening the copper.  They said "We don't do that!"  I said
>"Like hell, I am looking at a set right now where we sent in a pattern
>AND samples and it has copper ending 1 1/4" from the agraffe!"
>Originals were about 5/8".  Mapes sent a set UPS collect and I refused
>the shipment.  I sat down at the computer and designed my first set of
>strings, ordered them from Schaff and they sounded just fine.  I
>continued to refine my program until Parsons came out with his.
>
>I asked a bass string supply house's main string winder why winders
>shortened the copper.  His answer was essentially, "I don't know, we
>just been doing it that way for years."  Sheesh!!!
>
>With computers, scale data, formulae and vast experience in good and
>bad scales why manufacturer still, today, continue to make pianos with
>bad scales!  Makes no sense to me.
>
>Designing a decent scale is not hard as long as you have some minor
>understanding of tension, power, inharmonicity, computers, math and
>general engineering principles.  The main problem is measuring and
>data entry, the rest is just patience and asking, "what if?"
>
>With today's understandings there is absolutely no reason to rely upon
>the poor judgment and workmanship of some bass string suppliers.  I
>prefer, instead, to supply them with, use this core, this copper,
>start here and end there.  I don't even tell them the make or model of
>the piano.
>
>Yes, they charge more because they have to make a scale stick but I
>would rather pay a bit more and get what _I_ want.  I have messed up
>and have had to pay for two sets twice.  The last time because I made
>a data entry error, off by one note.  Real easy to spot because the
>copper was running into the agraffes.  I checked it all out and _I_
>had messed up.
>
>See what you did, Mark, you go me up on my soap box again!!
>
>This is one of my main peeves.  Stupidity perseveres!
>
> Newton
>
>
>