Strike Point

[Ron Nossaman]

>
> Bosendorfer hammer's strike on 1/7 of the string length and Steinway's
> hammers strike on 1/8 of the string length.     True or false.
>  
> Because the Bose strike point is 1/7th, this makes the tone more suitable to
> playing with a string ensemble and in small halls and if played with an
> orchestra, because the 7th partial is missing and the 8th more prominent the
> Bose looses power.



Hi Tony,
1/7 or 1/8 where in the scale? How about generally around 1/8 from bass to mid
scale, then 1/12 to 1/16 at the top. I don't know how the strike point
proportions differ between the pianos, or deviate from those general
proportions, but the differences in sound between the B'dorf and Steinway are
way more than the poor little strike point can account for.

It would be interesting to have a large number of pianists chose a piano from
among a dozen representing a half dozen brands, draped and partitioned so that
the only clues they got as to what they were playing were the feel and sound of
the instrument. Then wheel all the pianos out into the open, shuffle
thoroughly, and have the pianists again choose an instrument when they can see
what they're playing.

I wonder how many would choose the same one both times. The one with the
biggest casters might be the most popular after all.

I also wonder how many pianists would be willing to try this.

Just some peripheral thoughts.

Ron N