Bass string scaling question

[John Delacour]

At 10:39 am -0700 27/5/07, David Love wrote:

>Thanks.  That's helpful.  So while 55% represents the maximum, what is your
>typical target?

Often the maximum, but I will often make all the singles 
double-covered for smaller pianos even if the scale would allow for a 
few single-covered.  The use of a few single-covered strings in 
short, production scales is often a decision of the original 
string-maker rather than the scale man in order to save a bit of 
time.  All it does is provide one more unnecessary transition in the 
scale, which can be very noticeable.  No amount of experience and 
calculation can predict the precise quality of a break in a piano 200 
miles away that one has never seen or heard, so the fewer breaks 
there are the better.


>Additionally, is there a standard ratio that you target between the 
>inner and outer wrap on a double wrapped string.

Yes.  I use mainly two ratios -- 30/70 for longer scales and 40/60 
for short scales.  Occasionally I will do a few at 30/70 and then 
continue to the bottom with 30/70, but not usually.  25/75 is also a 
ratio that can be used for pianos that can be improved by just a few 
d/c strings at the bottom, for example the Bechstein 6'6" and 6'9" 
grands. Certain ratios, such as 33/66 must be avoided since this 
creates a visible, and presumably audible, interference between the 
covers.

JD