> Good point. That brings up a question as to where you will find the most >bridge pin grooving.............on a piano that gets tuned every three years >whether it needs it or not, including all the subsequent pitch raises, >etc....... or on a piano that stays at the same pitch and being tuned 6/8 >times a month or more? I suppose the same question holds for agraffes and >capos also. > > I don't know the answer because I suppose it would depend on what causes the >'grooves', of whatever shape, string rendering or string vibrations? maybe a >little of each? Thoughts? >Jim Bryant (FL) > Oh yes, I have lots of (arguably random) thoughts. Whether they connect with reality or not will probably be the ultimate question, but I'll give it a shot. My call is that the agraffe and v-bar damage (averaging iron hardness) is related mostly to the intensity, both in hours and enthusiasm, of play, whereas the bridge pin damage is related to both the intensity of play, and the number and severity of humidity cycles the piano has been through since the pins were new. I don't see the frequency (no pun, that's the other thread) or the total number of tunings having a lot to do with either problem. I think the total height of the bridge pin groove is related to the number and severity of humidity swings as the shrinking/swelling bridge carries the string up/down the pin as the bridge top cumulatively crushes under the string. The scrub tracks in the front bridge pins are deeper than those in the back ones (check it out), so I would blame the depth on the intensity of play. That's, simplistically, my version of this local reality. If anyone's got anything more rational, I'd love to hear it. Ron
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