Ron, please don't take "erudite hoo-hah" as a criticism! I LOVE erudite hoo-hah. /Jason ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@KSCABLE.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 5:59 PM Subject: Re: Twisting bass strings (physics) > >I've always wondered why you can twist the bass strings with obvious good > >results, but need be so careful to avoid twists in installing plain steel > >strings. "False beats!" was the warning. > > > >Now, after all this erudite hoo-hah about the physics of soundboards, I > >wonder if some of the scientific-minded might describe what happens to a > >string that is twisted, tensed, and struck? Clearly, twisting tightens the > >copper wrapping; but what does it do to the sound-generating qualities of > >the core (or of a plain steel string)? And how do "false beats" enter the > >picture? > > Erudite hoo-hah being what it is, you don't need to worry at all about > twisting plain strings on installation. It doesn't make any detectable > difference whatsoever one way or another. It tightens the wrap on wrapped > strings - if you twist them the right way. False beats in plain strings > mostly result from loose bridge pins, and mostly in the mid to upper > treble. Kinks in wire can cause odd noises lower down in the scale, but > twisting isn't normally or realistically a factor. That's yet another of > the "conventional wisdom" things that doesn't actually prove to be the case > in practice. > > > >Maybe the only real concern in the plain strings is that a twist *and* a > >U-turn around the hitch pin might create a "kink", and maybe THAT's the > >source of false beats. But I'd like to understand the physics better. > > > >Inquiring minds want to know. > > > >jason kanter * piano tuning * piano teaching > > In this case, the physics are just fine. It's the concept is stillborn. > > Ron N
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