Article about bridge agraffes - function, types

[Calin Tantareanu]

Hello Ron! 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org 
> [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ron Overs
> Sent: duminică, 19 noiembrie 2006 15:34
> To: Pianotech List
> Subject: RE: Article about bridge agraffes - function, types
> 
> 
> While I agree the improvement in sustain may in part be due to less 
> energy being lost, when compared to lossy bridge cap wood, I still 
> suspect that the added mass may be of more significance than the 
> termination improvement. I am inclined to this opinion since we gain 
> very large increases in sustain time by mass loading an otherwise 
> conventional bridge.

I'm sure mass added to the treble bridge has an important effect. What I'm
trying to say is that after one has applied the necessary mass, the bridge
cap/pin is still a place where energy is lost. A bridge agraffe would help
there, by wasting less energy than the traditional termination.

Mass loading and bridge agraffes are not mutually exclusive piano design
elements. They should work very well together.

> I can tell you from experience that adding mass to the treble end 
> increases the sustain by a considerable amount. At this point in time 
> I haven't done A-B tests with two instruments, one with agraffes and 
> one with a standard bridge mass loaded. But I can tell you that we 

This would be very interesting. Steingraeber could do such an experiment
easily, because they make versions with and without bridge agraffes.
On second thought, I don't know if that would work, because I've been told
that the bridge agraffes are not the only difference. The piano with
agraffes has a thinner soundboard and other changes too.

> have direct experience of deliberately mass loading the treble to 
> arrive at a desired balance between sustain and power. Here's an 
> image of a re-manufactured piano which was mass loaded in the treble 
> for this very reason.
> 
> http://members.optusnet.com.au/ronovers/overskawai8r.jpg
> 
> This piano was re-manufactured for the pianist, Gerard Willems, who 
> has done a number of recordings using the Stuart piano here in 
> Australia. Gerard had a Yamaha G2 in his home studio which was worn 
> out. When he asked me about the possibility of rebuilding it for him 
> I suggested finding a Kawai KG5 shell to re-manufacture it with our 
> action and I-rib board with a new scale. We routinely mass load the 
> high treble to achieve the sustain we're looking for. Those of you 
> who saw our no. 6 piano at Rochester would have seen the mass loaded 
> bridge.

I have seen it before and find it a very good idea. I hope you'll experiment
with bridge agraffes too, because it seems to me they have great potential,
even if they induce new tonal aspects in piano design.
As you saw in my article, there are ways of making them more or less
complicated.
I really liked the Schumann version, which is a really simple and elegant
solution. I wasn't able to find out how it sounds though.


> Yes, I agree that the larger and less lossy footprint probably does 
> allow for more of the higher harmonic spectrum to be transmitted to 
> the board, but I am still unsure if we want that to occur from a 
> musical perspective. My impression from speaking with Udo 

That is indeed a valid point. Musically, bridge agraffes open a new world to
the piano maker and pianist. It is up to the maker how he chooses to use
bridge agraffes and what effects he obtains with them.
However, by using filters such as those employed by Stuart and Steingraeber
Phoenix,  one can make the piano sound quite "normal".

> Steingraeber, when he was here a few months ago, was that he was not 
> yet convinced that the agraffed version of his concert grand is 
> suitable for all repertoire. But I'm sure many of us are unfamiliar 
> with the qualities which bridge agraffes bring to the mix, since most 
> of us haven't had a lot to do with instruments which are fitted with 
> them. Even in Udo's case, he is mostly used to building instruments 
> with conventional bridges. But I was interested in his impressions 
> since he is one of the few people on the planet who has built 
> instruments with conventional and agraffe equipped bridges.

I played his bridge agraffe concert grand and liked it very much. Other than
an unusually deep bass and a very clear and sustained overall tone, it
sounded like a piano, there was nothing strange or unpleasant.

Calin Tantareanu
http://calin.haos.ro
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