Duplex

[Duplexdan@AOL.COM]

Richard Brekne
Dear RicB

Your call for proof is well taken, but if I may I would like to put in a word 
for proving something to yourself, especially as a preamble to proving it to 
anyone else.

I got interested in tuning duplex scales many years ago working as a chipper 
in a Steinway rebuilding factory. I came to believe in it and I did alot of 
research on it. But I felt that just proving it to myself wasn't enough. I 
felt that if it is for real, I must be able to prove it to another technician 
in some objective way. That's when I developed the idea of doing an 
experiment.

The results of this experiment were published in the May 1995 issue of the 
Journal under the article title "A Tuner's 10-Year Tonal Treasurehunt". My 
data was rough but ready. I am not a scientist, I am a practical technician, 
so my data was limited by my inexperience in academia. However, the results 
were so clear and so poignant that I believed they could be considered 
objective proof of the value of  tuning the duplex scale.

I proved it to myself with my data, but apparently this wasn't enough to 
prove it to our world. And that is as it should be. We need more and better 
proof. The inclusion of this feature in many new pianos attests to the belief 
of many scale designers that a tuned duplex enhances the tone of the piano, 
but it doesn't prove it. It only proves that alot of serious people believe 
in it. 

I would very much be interested in "poifecting" the experimental techniques i 
used or at least making some contribution to someone elses experimental 
program. Your point of view is encouraging and perhaps may be quite valuable 
in the future, depending on who does the "poifecting".

Duplexdan.