Maybe the better question is why does the CC board require a varied strikeline rather than why the RC&S board doesn’t, or doesn’t seem to. If I had to formulate a hypothesis it would be along the lines of compensating for lack of stiffness and the accompanying inability of a failed killer octave to handle too rapid an input of energy. I say this for a couple of reasons. Invariably the strike line moves toward the capo bar where the imparted energy to the string will be less because of diminished string extrusion at attack. Also, striking the string nearer the capo bar seems to change the development of partials and seems to favor the upper partial development over the fundamental. The net effect is that the board is set into motion with a somewhat diminished chaos phase and settles into the sustain phase more easily with somewhat enhanced upper partial development. Moreover, since the board is set into motion in a kinder and gentler way the loss of energy from the attack phase appears to be slower. How’s that for a non-scientific explanation? Something else to keep in mind in all this. While the resetting of the strike line helps the sound on these original boards it doesn’t exactly make it sound great, just less bad. That tells me that the moving of the strikeline is, at best, a compensation. It’s not a fix or necessarily a requirement of that particular style of board but a partial remedy to a common condition that is often found in the killer octave. It also makes sense, then, that a soundboard that by design doesn’t have those inherent weaknesses would be more forgiving in terms of the strike line. About all I can muster after too many beers on Stupid Bowl Sunday. Well done Saints! David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 7:16 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer strike line. Was-----Yamaha Hammer Suggestion That's it exactly. Why? P In a message dated 2/7/2010 9:15:20 P.M. Central Standard Time, davidlovepianos at comcast.net writes: What I’m saying is that it’s happened on a couple of occasions (actually three) where the only real change was the soundboard. It seems pretty clear that it was the soundboard assembly that made the difference. But I do wonder what the explanation is. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 5:27 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer strike line. Was-----Yamaha Hammer Suggestion That's the interesting question. And that was my point. Thanks, David. Paul In a message dated 2/7/2010 7:18:23 P.M. Central Standard Time, davidlovepianos at comcast.net writes: I've found the same thing. Strike line deviation being necessary on original boards but when I replace the board on the same piano with a RC&S board the strike line seems to straighten out, or the curve becomes unnecessary. What's that about? David Love www.davidlovepianos.com -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 3:31 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer strike line. Was-----Yamaha Hammer Suggestion William Truitt wrote: > I too have staggered the strike line on Steinway grands and other pianos > to find the sweet spot and get the best tone. So let's ask the question > of the why of that - what is going on in the plate and string interface > in relation to the action that requires something other than a straight > line to achieve the best tone? Look at where the farthest deviation from a straight line is. Gee, that looks like the most universally problematic part of Steinway, and other largely panel supported crown, scales. How can there possibly be tonal problems in the killer octave? Must be the plate casting. As I periodically repeat, I find this phenomenon to not be obvious in low compression and adequately supported RC&S systems. I still check now and then, but find the difference, if I can detect any at all, to not be worth the trouble to deviate from the straight line on a new RC&S board. On an original board, it's likely obvious enough to be worth the trouble. I think it's primarily the soundboard. Ron N -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100207/a2ad7845/attachment.htm>
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