C=256 hz? Heads up? Not bloody likely

[Andrew and Rebeca Anderson]

Ron N.,
If I understand correctly, the lower tension would reduce sound-board 
loading.  This would reduce overall power and weaken the resonant 
sympathy between intervals as well that is evident at pitch where a 
piano will "ring."  So the design issue would go beyond scaling to 
sound-board loading and responsiveness.  In essence the target pitch 
is an essential part of the design from sound-board bridge placement, 
scale or string tension, even the stiffness of the wire.

Andrew

At 10:24 AM 10/18/2005, you wrote:


>>My question has more to do with piano design.  Say you have a 
>>customer who insists on a ~10 cent low tuning.  How does scale 
>>design impact this?  Can you get a reasonably resonant piano out of 
>>this without re-scaling?
>
>That "coming to life" effect of pulling a low piano up to pitch has, 
>I think, more to do with soundboard loading than scaling. I doubt 
>that it's possible to anticipate before the fact how the piano will 
>take the lower pitch.
>
>If a customer insisted on the 32 cent low tuning, I'd tell them I'd 
>be happy to charge for the pitch lowering and tuning, and the 
>following pitch raise and tuning if they didn't like the sound at 
>that pitch - with a follow up tuning in a few weeks in either case. 
>Cranking pins is cranking pins.
>
>Ron N
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