Mason & Hamlin AA scale.

[Ron Nossaman]

>One question comes to mind from the sketch of the transition bridge; is 
>this not in effect a hockey stick arrangement in disguise and why 
>manufacturers still use it, citing the same reasoning i.e. keeping as 
>large a distance between end of bass bridge and end of tenor bridge?
>
>Hope not to throw a cat amongst the pigeons!
>
>Alan Forsyth


Not even close. This is, in fact, a real scale break. The change from the 
plain wire trichords on the long bridge to the wrapped bichords on the 
transition bridge is accompanied by an appropriate reduction in speaking 
length (which is why the transition bridge works and the hockey stick 
doesn't), that keeps the strings on the transition bridge at a reasonable 
tension and  breaking%. Looking at the tension, impedance, inharmonicity 
and break% curves of a piano with a decently scaled transition bridge, and 
one with as good a compromise as can be expected with a hockey stick bridge 
and the differences will be obvious. Which manufacturers are these that are 
citing the intent of separating the bass and tenor for soundboard impedance 
control? I'm coming up on thirty years in the business and have never heard 
that from any manufacturer that I can recall.

Ron N