Scaling (Warning! Tongue in cheek)

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Kristinn,

How old is this piano?  Some place in my piles of stuff -- I've been
remodeling my "office" for some time now and that "stuff" is in piles and
boxes all over the place -- I have a report on some new scaling work that
was done by a university near the Estonia factory.  I don't know for sure
which size was used as an example, but my fading memory tells me it may well
have been the 185.

If I can find that report, and if the information in it is complete, I'll
run the scale and see what it looks like.

But, yes, odd beat rates going from plain steel to wrapped string rates is a
scaling problem.  Even if it does show up on a new piano using a new scale.
And it is one that can be eliminated.  Or at least reduced to such a small
degree as to be essentially un-noticeable.  The scaling can be worked out so
that tuning across breaks is uniform almost regardless of the positioning of
the bass bridge although there are some things the piano designer can do
when laying out a scale to make these transitions smoother both from a
tuning perspective and from a tone quality perspective.  Very few pianos --
new or old -- have anywhere close to an optimum string length transition
from steel strings to wound strings.

Del

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----- Original Message -----
From: Kristinn Leifsson <istuner@islandia.is>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: May 12, 2000 11:50 AM
Subject: Scaling (Warning! Tongue in cheek)


> On the scale of 1 - 10, how do you like icecream?
> That was a joke for people frustrated with jokes.
>
> Now, my dear people, a technically related question specifically designed
> by yours truly to fit the needs of those that did not smile at the
previous
> j-o-k-e.
>
> This is my question and it´s mine and I made it:
>
> Actually the question comes last in this text.
>
> I just tuned an Estonia grand about (185 cm) and encountered what I think
> might be a scaling problem.
>
> The hammers were all made of haddock!  ...sorry.
>
> A few months ago I told you about a problem in the mid treble of these
> pianos.  I have never been able to make the octaves stretch enough to my
> liking, without them having a beat in them.  Now, I know how to tune
> (warning: cuss)...dammit!  I´ve tuned many of these grands many times and
> this is something I encounter every single time with just them.  You told
> me this is probably a scaling problem.  Today I also noticed something
else.
>
> As I started going down the bass with beautifully slowing thirds they
> slowed down supercalifragilistically dramatically on the first wound
> strings, going all the way down.  Isn´t this a typical scaling problem?
>
>
> The temperament was equal, (not the "LWKT" ) and was very good.  The grand
> sounded fine however, so I´m not worried but this still strikes me as a
> problem of some sorts.
>
> Could this have anything to do with the positioning of the bridge?
>
>
>
> Kristinn Leifsson,
> Reykjavík, Iceland
>
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