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String leveling tool

  • 1.  String leveling tool

    Member
    Posted 08-08-2021 17:17
    I was watching a set of videos on piano voicing and saw them using a string leveling tool I had never seen before. I will try to add a link to the YouTube video. The tool is at 14:50. Does anyone know about this and does anyone know if it may be purchased?

    https://youtu.be/IL0Toxi7tmE

    Please let me know if the link works, I have never tried this before.

    Thank you.

    ------------------------------
    Rex Roseman
    Akron OH
    330-289-2948
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2021 17:51
    Rex -
    Your time stamp is unclear.  Which tool are you asking about?  I didn't have a chance to watch the entire video yet but it looks like a first rate production, with as up-to-date voicing techniques as I've seen anywhere.  PTG should arrange for translation services and post, unless they're copyrighted.  Short of that, learn Korean.

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: String leveling tool

    Member
    Posted 08-08-2021 17:58
    David

    The tool was the one that sat on the strings. 

    If you enable the captions they do a fair job of translating into English. This is a set of three videos done on voicing specifically for techs who are out of work at the moment because of COVID.

    Rex





  • 4.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2021 18:11
    Comparable tool, though not identical:






  • 5.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2021 18:34
    Kent - 
    can you verify the time location in the video.  I was missing it my skimming.  
    That's one of a number that I use, other's being Mother Goose Bubble, and Chris Brown combo String-Height/under-string level.  While I like the idea of the Faulk and would probably learn to be more comfortable with it with use, my reservation is that it depends upon the group of unisons it rests upon to be consistent... not always the case.  Some people have been critical of bubble level, partly for inability to access some notes around plate struts , but I've learned to use it quite consistently as with the understring level.  All of this with the caveat that some among us don't believe in the effectiveness of string leveling, long term at least, which is another issue.

    Rex -
    You're right about the captions, which I stumbled upon.  Yes they can be funny in their fractured English, but we're mostly past that by now.  
    What particularly makes them targeted for the unemployed?  Maybe I'll understand after watching them.

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-08-2021 18:48
    The time is for the first video in the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZZ_8ugAMUk

    (The link is to the third video)

    ------------------------------
    John Shriver
    Madison AL
    256-617-1179
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: String leveling tool

    Member
    Posted 08-08-2021 19:24
    Thank you John.

    I have never tried to link before and the one I wanted was in the first video. 

    Just to clarify, the tool the caught my attention was the one that sat on the strings as he checked for level. 

    If you watch all three videos, you will notice that what is shown by the person working at the piano is sometimes counter to how the speaker said things should be done. Specifically when it came to seating the strings on the bridge.

    Rex





  • 8.  RE: String leveling tool

    Member
    Posted 08-08-2021 19:28
    David

    If you read the captions in the intro, they stated that the videos were produced because there were tuners who had time because they could not tune, and they thought this would be a good opportunity to use that time for educational advancement.

    Rex





  • 9.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2021 18:38

    <grin> This got a lot more interesting (if less of an amusing tease) when I realized that closed caption English was on offer.

    Korean sounds more like Japanese than I would have expected.







  • 10.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2021 18:52
    After the hammer head is shaved, do they add after shave lotion?  :)
    i didn't see the string level tool, but I use the bubble gauge from Mother Goose. 



    ------------------------------
    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    St. Augustine, FL 32095
    Tnrwim@aol.com
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2021 19:07

    It was a cute video, but I think that the tool you were asking about was in part 1 at 14:50. It looks like something I'd do with a string hook, but not as fiercely. I'll go back and check.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZZ_8ugAMUk






  • 12.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-08-2021 23:23
    I just use the square end of a six inch ruler

    ------------------------------
    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-09-2021 13:00
    I use the Mother Goose leveling tool to check string level.  Mother Goose string level

    ------------------------------
    Jeffrey Gegner
    Tipton IN
    765-860-5900
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-09-2021 13:41
    Been Mother Goosing all my grands for years (just make sure piano is level first).





  • 15.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-09-2021 13:51
    The primary goal of string "leveling" should be to make strings of a tri-chord planar to each other, so the top of the hammer can be flat (and therefore be equally mated to the strings when using the shift pedal). 

    It is an added bonus if the plane of unison strings is also actually "level." And, as Joel points out, that involves first leveling the piano or, more specifically, the keybed. We accomplish this with a 48" carpenter's level on the keybed. We also check if the stretcher is actually parallel to the keybed, and make a note if it is (in which case the action need not be removed for future string leveling sessions).

    Alan

    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-09-2021 20:46
    > ...(and therefore be equally mated to the strings when using the shift pedal).

    Alan --

    Thank you for this aside. For years, RD was adamant on this and I never understood why it was preferable to have the piano itself level in order to level the strings. I was thinking that if the strings mated to the hammer correctly then all was well, even if there was, perhaps, a tiny angle involved. But your mentioning the shift pedal was an Aha! moment for me. If the strings are level with the hammers, but not level with the keybed then using the shift pedal would cause them to no longer level with the hammer anymore. Keybed, hammer surface and strings must all be of the same level. Thank You!


    ------------------------------
    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-09-2021 21:27
    Geoff,

    Love those "a-ha" moments! (Live for 'em, in fact ;-).

    IDEALLY, keybed, hammer crown, and strings of a unison would all be level. However, that is not always possible where the strings are concerned, depending on variables such as the drilling of the agraffes, the machining of the plate, etc.

    HOWEVER, if the strings of a tri-chord are planar, then the crown of the hammer could also be flat (though tilted at the same angle as the strings), which would still accommodate good mating when using the shift pedal.

    Alan 







  • 18.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-11-2021 08:17
    It doesn't sound as though anyone has done what I did years ago: mount a dial indicator in a machinist vice to see how string heights measured across the strings (L to R) varied as you moved away from the actual strike point. A revelation. Based on this, the only string level reading I use is RIGHT AT the strike point. Anything done from the top, without removing the damper, will be good for that spot, but has nothing to do with the strike point's string level.

    Another revelation: I could hear an out-of-level string at as little of 5 mills. Yes, folks, that's the thickness of a piece of plain paper.

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2021 00:30
    William,

    So if you come to an instrument you know you'll be doing the string leveling and damper work on, do you have a protocol for how you do string leveling?  Say if the damper wires need to be polished/holes reamed, you'll level the strings while you have the dampers out? 

    Nick

    ------------------------------
    Nicholas Litterski, RPT
    Austin TX
    512-573-8920
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-12-2021 01:47
    Easy to get to the strike point from underneath. I demonstrate this tool in this video.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Vp46K9Aio

    ------------------------------
    Chernobieff Piano Restorations
    "Where Tone is Key"
    chernobieffpiano.com
    grandpianoman@protonmail.com
    Lenoir City, TN
    865-986-7720
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-12-2021 10:02
    Bill< Another revelation: I could hear an out-of-level string at as little of 5 mills. Yes, folks, that's the thickness of a piece of plain paper

    Yet another piece of evidence that I am living in a different universe and reality than other techs...maybe I'm even a cyborg.

     I no longer bother even checking string level, and frankly don't even mate hammers. I am routinely producing the the most outstanding sounding pianos of my career. Maybe its because I use Bacons, and the bandwidth of functionality of a lighter (not ridiculously light, but light to medium on Stanwoods chart, just for comparison), softer hammer, with improved terminations, and not particularly stiff old or original boards. But fact is, if I spend this time leveling, it is not time well spent.. Not only can't I hear a difference, it actually degrades the tone. 

    Bill's comment about actually measuring the orientation of the string plane relative to "level", whatever the devil "level" is in a nonlinear, structure with multiple termination planes, is right on the money, in my experience. The assumptions made as to string plane, relative to the techniques used to "perfect" that string plane, simply do not take geometric reality into account.

    I do lightly form the catenary bend into a slightly straighter line, but that's about all.

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 22.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2021 13:20
    Jim went: 
    "I no longer bother even checking string level, and frankly don't even mate hammers. I am routinely producing the the most outstanding sounding pianos of my career. Maybe its because I use Bacons, and the bandwidth of functionality of a lighter (not ridiculously light, but light to medium on Stanwoods chart, just for comparison), softer hammer, with improved terminations, and not particularly stiff old or original boards."

    You probably wouldn't need to with softer hammers. The harder the hammer, the more critical it is.

    He also went:
    "Bill's comment about actually measuring the orientation of the string plane relative to "level", whatever the devil "level" is in a nonlinear, structure with multiple termination planes, is right on the money, in my experience."

    My own understanding of the situation is that it's one of "note-by-note", and specifically, on any note, 1.) a straight line of height across the 3 strings on the note, 2.) a square, straight-line across that hammer's strike point, and (here's the money shot) 3.) that these two lines are parallel. That's all that counts for me. no larger topography need apply.

    Nicholas went:
    "So if you come to an instrument you know you'll be doing the string leveling and damper work on, do you have a protocol for how you do string leveling? Say if the damper wires need to be polished/holes reamed, you'll level the strings while you have the dampers out?"

    This has nothing to do with dampers be off/on, out/in. My reading of "string level" is taken, from underneath, where the hammer hits the string. Have a real close let-off, lift the hammer to the string by the jack, and pluck the strings.

    Where do I set my "level"? At the hammer crown. My final reshaping (@ ~600 grit) is done with a straight-edge sitting on the hammer rail, and looking over the top of it to see that the hammer's strike point is level with that. File to correct. That's my assumed straight edge. Then, plucking strings with the hammer in contact with them, I get the 2 or 3 strings on that note (whether bichord or tri-), to make even contact (based on the pluck sound).

    The real kicker is, after you've mated the hammer and strings for the standard position, check it out in the UC position. Even if your UC clears the LH string, the C&R strings should still match. If not, one of those two lines aren't straight. You then have to go back to that first straight line, the hammer crown. If that's "eye-ball" straight, then the out-of-mate is the string. I wrote about this in the PTJ, what, `30 years ago.

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 23.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2021 21:23

    Surprising. String leveling and hammer mating are critical IMO. I suppose if the hammer is mushy enough it might matter less but I'm not even convinced of that. I use Ronsen bacon felt and am fastidious about string leveling and hammer mating. I think you should be too. "String leveling" is a bit of a misnomer because the important thing is that they are on the same plane, not necessarily level to some point of reference. But it's not less important.  


    I understand that there's a trend to reject all traditional protocols. I think it's reached toxic proportions, honestly.  Some protocols have less of a foundation than others and are more habits than necessities. But many have a real basis and while it's good to question the basis, throwing everything out for its own sake is a mistake. 



    ------------------------------
    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
    ------------------------------



  • 24.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2021 22:29
    David Love went: 

    "Surprising. String leveling and hammer mating are critical IMO. I suppose if the hammer is mushy enough it might matter less but I'm not even convinced of that."

    It's about how close to simultaneously in time, the 3 strings hit. If they don't hit simultaneously, then the last to get hit gets the least power. A tone is solid when the hammer delivers it force simultaneously to all three strings.

    Imagine you're the LH string and high in relationship to the C & L strings (whether or not the hammer hits them simultaneously or not). The hammer hits the C/L strings first with it power being split between these 2 strings. A couple if milliseconds later the hammer hits you, but with much less force. (The C/L/ strings may have been hit "ff" but you're hit with a "mp". As three strings combine, your string really only adds a whine to the deep resonance of the other two.)

    Yes, a LH string is being fed by activity on the bridge. This can be observed by 1.) spacing the hammer to miss the LH string with the UC shift, 2.) hit the note with the usual strength, and 3.)  immediately damp the C/R strings, keeping your finger tip there. What remains is the extent to which the mechanical energy in the bridge has fed the LH string. It's small in comparison to the LH string's normal sound when being the distant last of 3 strings to get hit by the hammer.

    David also totally went:
    "'String leveling'" is a bit of a misnomer because the important thing is that they are on the same plane, not necessarily level to some point of reference. But it's not less important."

    It's "string mating" only to the extent that the hammer crown is assumed to be square across, and hammer/string mating is more accurate. But for me it's about making sure that the hammer's force is equally divided between 3 strings of a tri-chord. And the way to do that is to make sure that each string is right in lace to get its full share of that force. Synchonicity

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 25.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-12-2021 22:55
    Hi, Bill,

    You wrote:

    "It's "string mating" only to the extent that the hammer crown is
    assumed to be square across, and hammer/string mating is more accurate.
    But for me it's about making sure that the hammer's force is equally
    divided between 3 strings of a tri-chord. And the way to do that is to
    make sure that each string is right in lace to get its full share of
    that force. Synchronicity."

    I'm not sure that Jung would agree with this use of the term. His most
    thorough treatment of this subject is in Vol. 8 of the Collected Works,
    Bollingen Series XX:) The same explication is in the separately published:

    Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle,
    Routledge and Kegan Paul (published 1972). ISBN 978-0-7100-7397-6.

    In that volume, I think you'll find Jung's most concise description of
    synchronicity on or around p.44 or so.

    If you don't want to wade through Jung's own discussion, there's
    another, more accessible discussion in:

    Tarnas, Richard (2006) Cosmos and Psyche
    New York: Penguin Group ISBN 978-0-670-03292-1.

    The relevant parts in that reference (which is otherwise highly
    recommended) is on/around page 50.

    If you mean something like "simultaneity", then the description makes
    more sense.

    Kind regards.

    Horace

    On 8/12/2021 7:29 PM, William Ballard via Piano Technicians Guild wrote:
    > David Love went:??
    >
    > "Surprising. String leveling and hammer mating are critical IMO. I suppose if the hammer is mushy enough it might matter less but I'm not even convinced of that."
    >
    > It's about how close to simultaneously in time, the 3 strings hit. If they don't hit simultaneously, then the last to get hit gets the least power. A tone is solid when the hammer delivers it force simultaneously to all three strings.
    >
    > Imagine you're the LH string and high in relationship to the C & L strings (whether or not the hammer hits them simultaneously or not). The hammer hits the C/L strings first with it power being split between these 2 strings. A couple if milliseconds later the hammer hits you, but with much less force. (The C/L/ strings may have been hit "ff" but you're hit with a "mp". As three strings combine, your string really only adds a whine to the deep resonance of the other two.)
    >
    > Yes, a LH string is being fed by activity on the bridge. This can be observed by 1.) spacing the hammer to miss the LH string with the UC shift, 2.) hit the note with the usual strength, and 3.)?? immediately damp the C/R strings, keeping your finger tip there. What remains is the extent to which the mechanical energy in the bridge has fed the LH string. It's small in comparison to the LH string's normal sound when being the distant last of 3 strings to get hit by the hammer.
    >
    > David also totally went:
    > "'String leveling'" is a bit of a misnomer because the important thing is that they are on the same plane, not necessarily level to some point of reference. But it's not less important."
    >
    > It's "string mating" only to the extent that the hammer crown is assumed to be square across, and hammer/string mating is more accurate. But for me it's about making sure that the hammer's force is equally divided between 3 strings of a tri-chord. And the way to do that is to make sure that each string is right in lace to get its full share of that force. Synchonicity
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > William Ballard RPT
    > WBPS
    > Saxtons River VT
    > 802-869-9107
    >
    > "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    > and dies if one be gone
    > Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    > should keep in tune so long."
    > ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    > +++++++++++++++++++++
    > ------------------------------
    > -------------------------------------------
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-12-2021 21:22
    > From: David Love
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    >
    > Surprising. String leveling and hammer mating are critical IMO. I suppose if the hammer is mushy enough it might matter less but I'm not even convinced of that. I use Ronsen bacon felt and am fastidious about string leveling and hammer mating. I think you should be too. "String leveling" is a bit of a misnomer because the important thing is that they are on the same plane, not necessarily level to some point of reference. But it's not less important. ??
    >
    >
    > I understand that there's a trend to reject all traditional protocols. I think it's reached toxic proportions, honestly. ??Some protocols have less of a foundation than others and are more habits than necessities. But many have a real basis and while it's good to question the basis, throwing everything out for its own sake is a mistake.??
    >
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > David Love RPT
    > www.davidlovepianos.com <http: www.davidlovepianos.com="">
    > davidlovepianos@comcast.net <davidlovepianos@comcast.net>
    > 415 407 8320
    > ------------------------------
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-12-2021 13:20
    > From: William Ballard
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > Jim went:
    > "I no longer bother even checking string level, and frankly don't even mate hammers. I am routinely producing the the most outstanding sounding pianos of my career. Maybe its because I use Bacons, and the bandwidth of functionality of a lighter (not ridiculously light, but light to medium on Stanwoods chart, just for comparison), softer hammer, with improved terminations, and not particularly stiff old or original boards."
    >
    > You probably wouldn't need to with softer hammers. The harder the hammer, the more critical it is.
    >
    > He also went:
    > "Bill's comment about actually measuring the orientation of the string plane relative to "level", whatever the devil "level" is in a nonlinear, structure with multiple termination planes, is right on the money, in my experience."
    >
    > My own understanding of the situation is that it's one of "note-by-note", and specifically, on any note, 1.) a straight line of height across the 3 strings on the note, 2.) a square, straight-line across that hammer's strike point, and (here's the money shot) 3.) that these two lines are parallel. That's all that counts for me. no larger topography need apply.
    >
    > Nicholas went:
    > "So if you come to an instrument you know you'll be doing the string leveling and damper work on, do you have a protocol for how you do string leveling? Say if the damper wires need to be polished/holes reamed, you'll level the strings while you have the dampers out?"
    >
    > This has nothing to do with dampers be off/on, out/in. My reading of "string level" is taken, from underneath, where the hammer hits the string. Have a real close let-off, lift the hammer to the string by the jack, and pluck the strings.
    >
    > Where do I set my "level"? At the hammer crown. My final reshaping (@ ~600 grit) is done with a straight-edge sitting on the hammer rail, and looking over the top of it to see that the hammer's strike point is level with that. File to correct. That's my assumed straight edge. Then, plucking strings with the hammer in contact with them, I get the 2 or 3 strings on that note (whether bichord or tri-), to make even contact (based on the pluck sound).
    >
    > The real kicker is, after you've mated the hammer and strings for the standard position, check it out in the UC position. Even if your UC clears the LH string, the C&R strings should still match. If not, one of those two lines aren't straight. You then have to go back to that first straight line, the hammer crown. If that's "eye-ball" straight, then the out-of-mate is the string. I wrote about this in the PTJ, what, `30 years ago.
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > William Ballard RPT
    > WBPS
    > Saxtons River VT
    > 802-869-9107
    >
    > "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    > and dies if one be gone
    > Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    > should keep in tune so long."
    > ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    > +++++++++++++++++++++
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-12-2021 10:01
    > From: Jim Ialeggio
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > Bill< Another revelation: I could hear an out-of-level string at as little of 5 mills. Yes, folks, that's the thickness of a piece of plain paper
    >
    > Yet another piece of evidence that I am living in a different universe and reality than other techs...maybe I'm even a cyborg.
    >
    > ??I no longer bother even checking string level, and frankly don't even mate hammers. I am routinely producing the the most outstanding sounding pianos of my career. Maybe its because I use Bacons, and the bandwidth of functionality of a lighter (not ridiculously light, but light to medium on Stanwoods chart, just for comparison), softer hammer, with improved terminations, and not particularly stiff old or original boards. But fact is, if I spend this time leveling, it is not time well spent.. Not only can't I hear a difference, it actually degrades the tone.
    >
    > Bill's comment about actually measuring the orientation of the string plane relative to "level", whatever the devil "level" is in a nonlinear, structure with multiple termination planes, is right on the money, in my experience. The assumptions made as to string plane, relative to the techniques used to "perfect" that string plane, simply do not take geometric reality into account.
    >
    > I do lightly form the catenary bend into a slightly straighter line, but that's about all.
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Jim Ialeggio
    > grandpianosolutions.com
    > Shirley, MA
    > 978 425-9026
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-12-2021 01:46
    > From: Chris Chernobieff
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > Easy to get to the strike point from underneath. I demonstrate this tool in this video.
    > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Vp46K9Aio <https: www.youtube.com/watch?v="23Vp46K9Aio">
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Chernobieff Piano Restorations
    > "Where Tone is Key"
    > chernobieffpiano.com
    > grandpianoman@protonmail.com <grandpianoman@protonmail.com>
    > Lenoir City, TN
    > 865-986-7720
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-12-2021 00:30
    > From: Nicholas Litterski
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > William,
    >
    > So if you come to an instrument you know you'll be doing the string leveling and damper work on, do you have a protocol for how you do string leveling??? Say if the damper wires need to be polished/holes reamed, you'll level the strings while you have the dampers out?
    >
    > Nick
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Nicholas Litterski, RPT
    > Austin TX
    > 512-573-8920
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-11-2021 08:17
    > From: William Ballard
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > It doesn't sound as though anyone has done what I did years ago: mount a dial indicator in a machinist vice to see how string heights measured across the strings (L to R) varied as you moved away from the actual strike point. A revelation. Based on this, the only string level reading I use is RIGHT AT the strike point. Anything done from the top, without removing the damper, will be good for that spot, but has nothing to do with the strike point's string level.
    >
    > Another revelation: I could hear an out-of-level string at as little of 5 mills. Yes, folks, that's the thickness of a piece of plain paper.
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > William Ballard RPT
    > WBPS
    > Saxtons River VT
    > 802-869-9107
    >
    > "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    > and dies if one be gone
    > Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    > should keep in tune so long."
    > ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    > +++++++++++++++++++++
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-09-2021 21:26
    > From: Alan Eder
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > Geoff,
    > Love those "a-ha" moments! (Live for 'em, in fact ;-).
    > IDEALLY, keybed, hammer crown, and strings of a unison would all be level. However, that is not always possible where the strings are concerned, depending on variables such as the drilling of the agraffes, the machining of the plate, etc.
    > HOWEVER, if the strings of a tri-chord are planar, then the crown of the hammer could also be flat (though tilted at the same angle as the strings), which would still accommodate good mating when using the shift pedal.
    > Alan
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 8/9/2021 8:46:00 PM
    > From: Geoff Sykes
    > Subject: RE: String leveling tool
    >
    >> ...(and therefore be equally mated to the strings when using the shift pedal).
    >
    > Alan --
    >
    > Thank you for this aside. For years, RD was adamant on this and I never understood why it was preferable to have the piano itself level in order to level the strings. I was thinking that if the strings mated to the hammer correctly then all was well, even if there was, perhaps, a tiny angle involved. But your mentioning the shift pedal was an Aha! moment for me. If the strings are level with the hammers, but not level with the keybed then using the shift pedal would cause them to no longer level with the hammer anymore. Keybed, hammer surface and strings must all be of the same level. Thank You!
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Geoff Sykes, RPT
    > Los Angeles CA
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-09-2021 13:51
    > From: Alan Eder
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > The primary goal of string "leveling" should be to make strings of a tri-chord planar to each other, so the top of the hammer can be flat (and therefore be equally mated to the strings when using the shift pedal).
    >
    > It is an added bonus if the plane of unison strings is also actually "level." And, as Joel points out, that involves first leveling the piano or, more specifically, the keybed. We accomplish this with a 48" carpenter's level on the keybed. We also check if the stretcher is actually parallel to the keybed, and make a note if it is (in which case the action need not be removed for future string leveling sessions).
    >
    > Alan
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Alan Eder, RPT
    > Herb Alpert School of Music
    > California Institute of the Arts
    > Valencia, CA
    > 661.904.6483
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-09-2021 13:40
    > From: Joel Weber
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > Been Mother Goosing all my grands for years (just make sure piano is level first).
    >
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 8/9/2021 1:00:00 PM
    > From: Jeffrey Gegner
    > Subject: RE: String leveling tool
    >
    > I use the Mother Goose leveling tool to check string level.?? Mother Goose string level <http: mothergoosetools.org/product/brass-string-level/="">
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Jeffrey Gegner
    > Tipton IN
    > 765-860-5900
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 08-08-2021 17:17
    > From: Rex Roseman
    > Subject: String leveling tool
    >
    > I was watching a set of videos on piano voicing and saw them using a string leveling tool I had never seen before. I will try to add a link to the YouTube video. The tool is at 14:50. Does anyone know about this and does anyone know if it may be purchased?
    >
    > https://youtu.be/IL0Toxi7tmE <https: youtu.be/il0toxi7tme="">
    >
    > Please let me know if the link works, I have never tried this before.
    >
    > Thank you.
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Rex Roseman
    > Akron OH
    > 330-289-2948
    > ------------------------------
    >
    >
    > Reply to Sender : https://my.ptg.org/eGroups/PostReply/?GroupId=43&MID=740541&SenderKey=de0a1749-f928-49b3-99dc-6c3d5ff4b007&MDATE=757645%253d467&UserKey=3feecf45-4a69-4cff-bbb2-fd6c7eaf0569&sKey=KeyRemoved
    >
    > Reply to Discussion : https://my.ptg.org/eGroups/PostReply/?GroupId=43&MID=740541&MDATE=757645%253d467&UserKey=3feecf45-4a69-4cff-bbb2-fd6c7eaf0569&sKey=KeyRemoved
    >
    >
    >
    > You are subscribed to "Pianotech" as horace@horacegreeleypiano.com. To change your subscriptions, go to http://my.ptg.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions&MDATE=757645%253d467&UserKey=3feecf45-4a69-4cff-bbb2-fd6c7eaf0569&sKey=KeyRemoved. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to http://my.ptg.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=3feecf45-4a69-4cff-bbb2-fd6c7eaf0569&sKey=KeyRemoved&GroupKey=2bb4ebe8-4dba-4640-ae67-111903beaddf.
    >




  • 26.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 00:29
    Now this is the sort of stuff that warrents the attention of list moderators.  I always suspected Horace was dangeerous, but never realized just how much so.  Seems like Jim Iallegio dodged a bullet on this one.

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 27.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 07:59
    Yeah, the ones who put a smile on your face and make you smile are the most subversive.  

    I was so much older then, but I am Jung-er than that now.

    ------------------------------
    William Truitt
    Bridgewater NH
    603-744-2277
    ------------------------------



  • 28.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 09:02
    Horace Greeley went:
    "If you mean something like "simultaneity", then the description makes
    more sense."

    Let's see what a dictionary says:
    "syn·chro·nic·i·ty
    /ˌsiNGkrəˈnisədē/
    noun
    1. 1.
      the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.
      "such synchronicity is quite staggering"
    Definitions from Oxford Languages"

    You're right: 1.) Jung originated the term, and 2.) there is a discernible causal connection (… they are both part of a mechanical system and they are both waiting, patiently, to be hit by a hammer)

    My point would have been better made with the past participle "synchronized". (From the same dictionary: "cause to occur or operate at the same time or rate. e.g. "soldiers used watches to synchronize movements"

    Horace, does this work for you? I do like the mention of "cause to occur or operate at the same time" because that's exactly what fitting the hammers and strings together is.


    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 29.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 17:26
    Greetings, Horace

    You went:
    "I'm not sure that Jung would agree with this use of the term. His most thorough treatment of this subject is in Vol. 8 of the Collected Works, Bollingen Series XX:) "

    In fact, I just heard from the lawyer of his estate, who informed me that I was about to be charged with off-label use of a word he created. The Estate would refrain from suing me if I paid the royalties for my having used the word. They don't make words like they used to.

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 30.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 22:10
    Oh no, another trademark infringement case!

    Pwg

    ------------------------------
    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 31.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 01:07
    Bill

    As I said, I think string mating is critical.  Not just for the reasons you gave but I can hear when hammer mating is not exact, there's a slight whine that occurs coming, presumably, from the string that is not directly struck.  It's usually pretty obvious.  I do think you can get away with it a bit more with very soft hammers but still I wouldn't advise doing that.   

    As far as string leveling, I think the important thing is that the strings are on the same plane even if they aren't on a plane exactly 90 degrees to the floor, say. Then, the hammer top must be on the same plane as the strings.  As you said, that makes so that una corda string mating remains consistent.  To accomplish that, therefore, I don't use a bubble level but rather the square end of a 6" ruler which I lay on the left string and then rock slowly to the right while plucking each of the strings until the end of the ruler is contacting all the strings indicated by the sound of the pluck.  If they aren't level you will know instantly and also know which one(s) are low.  You then correct with a string hook.  The degree to which the ruler points straight up, perpendicular to the strings, tells you if the string plane slopes but a very slight slope I don't worry about.   Sometimes the plate isn't exactly level which means the torus' in the agraffe won't be either.  Similarly with the capo bar.  That slight slope is taken care of with the hammer mating that matches the plane of the top of the hammer to the string plane.  

    I think string leveling and mating is a very bad thing to ignore.  It's an essential part of the voicing process and effects power as well as tonal clarity.

    ------------------------------
    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
    ------------------------------



  • 32.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 09:46
    Alan Eder went:
    "IDEALLY, keybed, hammer crown, and strings of a unison would all be level."

    Actually that's not necessary at all. All you need is for 1.) each hammer to have a crown straight across, 2.) the string heights of that note to form a straight line across AT the strike point, and 3.) that these two straight lines are parallel. They could both be at a 15º angle to the keybed, and the hammer blow would still get divided evenly between all strings on that note. Conceivably (and shockingly), each note could have its own inclination (of hammer crown and string level), and the mating would still have been accomplished.

    But that would make for an awful hammer line, the kind you wouldn't want another tech to see. So, my first step is that stick of wood, sitting absolutely dead level on the hammer flange rail, which is the reference for my "square-across" hammer crowns.

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 33.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 09:53
    William, 

    Hopefully, you and other readers read the second paragraph of my post as well as the first one.

    Alan

    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 34.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 10:59
    Greetings, Alan.
    Yes I did read your entire post, and the idea introduced in the 2dparagraph:
    "It is an added bonus if the plane of unison strings is also actually "level."

    The only real consequence I can see if this plane of strings isn't "actually level" is for what the dampers need to do their work properly. Let me know if there are other benefits in this added bonus.

    But strictly speaking, insuring that when the hammers start hitting strings, a particular hammer's force is divided equally among that string's note doesn't require that added bonus.

    Not to worry about my hammer lines. Although the action sections may have different inclinations (because of the differing string heights among sections), my hammer crowns are parallel to the hammer flange rail (with my stick of wood laying across the hammer flanges). That might not be parallel to the keybed (when the hammer centers at #1 and 88 aren't equal) but the hammer crowns certainly won't be more than a degree or 2 out-of-parallel. And until I learn more about the added benefits of having the overall string plane parallel to the keybed, it's not important to me. As Jim Ialeggio pointed out, the topography is complicated enough that generalization is a fools errand.

    And my point still stands: one should mount an indicator in a vice to get the real lay-of-the-land.


    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 35.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 12:21
    Hi William, 

    I have heard of "agreeing to disagree," but the present situation seems to be a case of "disagreeing to agree."

    It seems that you and I are in accord about the main thing being that strings of a tri-chord are planar, and the crown of the hammer being flat and parallel to the string plane. And we are, along with David Love and a host of others, are, of course, correct in this. If there is supposed to be a point of contention here, I am at a loss to figure out what that would be about.

    Alan

    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 36.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 13:37
    Alan Eder went:
    "If there is supposed to be a point of contention here, I am at a loss to figure out what that would be about."

    Nothing more than what you alluded to in your comment:
    "It is an added bonus if the plane of unison strings is also actually "level.""And there's no contention. I just needed to know what is gained by this added bonus. The only thing I could think of is the damper situation. The dampers are designed to come down on something level, and if the straight line across the strings of a note are not parallel, the dampers' "removal of sound" will not be even across the strings on that note. Then there's the possibility that the added bonus is sort of like points for extra credit. Like taking an action whose set-up does not allow the knuckle core and the back of the jack to form a straight line at the specific hammer blow, and changing what's necessary to turn the action into one where this straight line IS possible.

    I was just curious about this extra bonus, that's all. I'd be happy to find out.

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 37.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 13:52
    Well, William, to a great extent, you have answered your own question by mentioning 1) making it easier to get better damping (and given the pervasive ignorance about and fear of regulating dampers, that is no small thing), 2) better appearance of the hammer line (granted, not a touch or tone thing, but more of a vanity thing), and 3) RIH (Reward in Heaven), a "bonus" piano technicians are notorious for striving for.

    Enjoy your weekend, 

    Alan

    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 38.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-13-2021 16:44
    To add to the complexity of leveling and such, here is the string plane of my current rebuild as an example..


    ------------------------------
    Chernobieff Piano Restorations
    "Where Tone is Key"
    chernobieffpiano.com
    grandpianoman@protonmail.com
    Lenoir City, TN
    865-986-7720
    ------------------------------



  • 39.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 22:56
    If the hammer is not hitting all strings of the unison at the same time when the shift pedal is at rest, the tone of that note is less full and always sounds a little like the unison is not locked solid. Mis-phased unison strings "fight" with each other, thus the coupling lock between the strings is weakened. This makes the unison sound detuned even when it is tuned as smooth as possible. Getting rapid onset of unison string coupling is a very desired state in a piano.

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 40.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2021 23:25
    Chris,
    Can you describe that diagram in some detail?
    What's the actual string height change in the agraffe sections? Are the individual agraffes parallel to the keybed?  What's the slope in there capo sections?

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 41.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-15-2021 00:12
    Those are measurements from the keybed, at the beginning and end of each section. Somehow the bottom half of the pic is gone. It turns out that the plate/pinblock was lower on the left side, as well as each section not being horizontal, but having somewhat of an angle to them. Thus there is no assurance that the plate or individual agraffe are ever really parallel to the keybed or hammer line.

    ------------------------------
    Chernobieff Piano Restorations
    "Where Tone is Key"
    chernobieffpiano.com
    grandpianoman@protonmail.com
    Lenoir City, TN
    865-986-7720
    ------------------------------



  • 42.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-15-2021 10:37
    <Thus there is no assurance that the plate or individual agraffe are ever really parallel to the keybed or hammer line.

    There are actually, several guaranteed conditions we can depend on.  They are:

    1- that the string plane will not be a singular plane. It will always be multiple planes, with non parallell relationships to each other.
    2- those non-parallel planes cannot not all  be parallel to keybed
    3- those planes will thus, not be parallel to a level put across either the top of the case rim, or on the keybed

    Common, but not necessarily guaranteed conditions are:

    1- tenor section, somewhere around 38 or 40-ish, that section will crown, and the crown will reverse around 40-ish or something like that. So not only is the plane not parallel to the keybed, it is not even straight. Capos are often a straight plane, but not always
    2- the agraffes will not be drilled and tapped perpendicular to the keybed. This because, even if they were drilled perpendicular to some reference on the plate, that plate reference will not reliably be installed perpendicular to the as built keybed.

    This is why we custom bore.  It is also why I never install a calculated back check line or check height. It is always empirically derived from the as-built conditions.. 


    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 43.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-15-2021 11:06
    Yeah, well, I should have double checked on the latest installments  before hitting 'send'.  I believe what I just saw Jim write, but maybe there's something of value in what I just posted, so I'll leave it.


    Thanks.  So, here's a thought from someone who a) doesn't do his own rebuilding, thus is free to obsessviely measure and critique other peoples work without being subject to similar judgment, b) can and does get carried away (at times) with sub-minutia that could have little ultimate benefit and would (certainly) be of questionable economic justification. 
    Disclaimer aside, your last comment intrigues me:
    Thus there is no assurance that the plate or individual agraffe are ever really parallel to the keybed or hammer line.

    You could manufacture a set of 'test' agraffes, with shortend stems (thus requiring few turns to seat them) and with the flatened tops being proved (certified, by you) perpendicular to the stems.  Thus, if you calibrate a bubble or digital device to the keybed, you could prove the perpendicularity of your agraffe drilling.  From there, you would want to determine the accuracy of the string-hole drilling of your selected set of agraffes.  If the slopes in your drawing ultimately degrade the perpendicularity of your agraffe drilling, I don't see how you can establish a reliable 'unison' level that is, in fact parallel to the keybed, especially if, as Jim Iallegio does, you are simply removing the 'catenary'  curve of the wire.  I that case, you have to rely on fitting hammers to a 'self' leveled unison (i.e. level within itself).   In such a case, a tool such as the Faulk string level might seem appropriate.

    If, on the other hand, the slope occurs with perpendicular agraffes, the Faulk would not work, and your string line would be a series of steps, not unlike what you have if you impose a crowned keylevel on a set of keys that were first squared to a flat edge.  (note: I'm not sure which of those two scenarios is a) correct, or b) prefered). 

    Fortunately, your drawing seems to indicate minimal such issues in the capo section, so I'll skip that.

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 44.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-16-2021 02:00
    I think this is really sweating the small stuff to a fault. Just level each set of unisons on one plane and then square the tops of the hammers to the same plane and mate them perfectly.  If that unison plane slopes a degree this way or that  it doesn't matter





  • 45.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-17-2021 20:22
    I agree, David. It's similar to worrying about a tuning's accuracy to the 1/10¢ which is now possible because of ETDs. Before, when all we had was our ears, we would just tune to the best of our hearing. And when ETDs arrived, the important criteria was whether an ETD could come up with a tuning as good as a good aural tuning. But the ability to tell us where our semitones are to within the 1/1000th of a semitone has always been putting too fine a point on it, and it was never necessary for the aural tunings we used to do..

    I don't care whether a trichord's strings start off level because of an accurately machined aggraphe, or whether they are level at some point between that and the front of the damper felt. All I care about is whether the strings are "level" at the hammer's strike point. This is not rocket science, folks.

    I also cringe when people want to blame unlevel strings on poorly machined aggraphes. There need be no other culprit than wire pulled out a circular storage, and asked to stretch absolutely straight (to the 1/1000th of an inch). There may be other culprits (some of which we can control), but I'm happy to assume that the natural curvature of the wire can by itself create the out-of-level situation at the strike point. We can't control this, so we have to correct it.

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 46.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-19-2021 01:29
    I've been stumped for a few days by the turn this discussion seemed to take, at the root of which I suspect is some misunderstanding.  Jim has a method for handling his wire that he feels supresses the source of unlevelness which Bill references at the end of his post. but Jim, somewhat provocatively, also seems to downplay the importance of obsessing with string level, partly due to the softer hammers he prefers, as well as his experience of the transigence of level corrections.  I think it's accepted that harder hammers are more apt to display tonal anomalies related to poor fitting to strings, which seems clearly more easily accomplished with a unison that is a level to horizontal as possible.    I've observed all the characteristics of sloping and crowning that have been descirbed.  I'm not sure where the disagreement lies, other than, as I said previously and retested again today: an under-string tool, such as Chris Brown's Grandworks String Height/Level or Chris Chernobieff's can establish a unison level to the keybed at the strike point, with the dampers in place.  A bubble level such as Mother Goose tool can do the same with dampers removed.  David's ruler works close to the strike point.  The Faulk, on the other hand, calibrates to the slope of the string height crowned plane, so it will be somewhat out of synch with a level made from keybed.  Additionally, it can be subject to distortions from individual unisons that may anamalously project above the general plane.

    Bill said: We can't control this, so we have to correct it.

    No, it's not rocket science.  All we're talking about is how to correct it.

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 47.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-19-2021 09:45
    <No, it's not rocket science.  All we're talking about is how to correct it.

    Correct what????

    Present Bill's 0.005" correction, on a system comprised of felt, felt/steel/wood bearings and wooden levers to a mechanical engineer, and you will have to peel said engineer off the floor in convulsive laughter. 

    What are you correcting? You assume you are correcting one parameter, but there is evidence the thing you are supposedly correcting is not infact what you are changing at all. Take for example an occurrence which I have observed on every single belly I have ever touched...every bloody one of them:

    1st capo (as usual)- one note, say C5 has zero sustain, highly explosive thud. C#5 right next door, has quite reasonable sustain. "Ahha!". you declare! C5 is not matched well to the strings, and C#5 is matched perfectly. Ialeggio on the other hand, picks up a mass load and applies it, after some tests, somewhere on a rib close to C5. C5 "magically" blooms into a  nicely sustained tone, obviously (sarcastic emoji) having "mated the hammer to string perfectly". However C#5, which was "perfectly mated" previously, now becomes a thud tone. Obviously (sarcastic emoji, again) I have disturbed the string mating of C#5 by applying a mass load to the bottom of the board.

    If you have observed, as I have, over and over again, how impedance matches (matches being a tonally destructive condition...we want mis-match), and board mode/frequency locations determine which hammers will exhibit the supposed evidence of "poor hammer/string matching", you might understand my skepticism regarding this particular adjustment.  

    So I repeat, correct what? You assume we know what the devil we are correcting, to improbable thousandths of an inch.


    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 48.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-19-2021 12:04
    OK.  Let's see how this goes:
    there is evidence the thing you are supposedly correcting is not infact what you are changing at all.
    can you explain ?

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 49.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-19-2021 13:14
      |   view attached
    The phenomenon Jim mentions I have tracked back to an incorrect rib scale. Most are very uneven. Some with wrong rib counts as well. If we are to believe that the energy is transmitted through the ribs, and if those ribs dimensions are all over the place. Then you would have uneven energy areas. I highly suspect this is to be the culprit, especially if artificially loading corrects or manipulates it. And their differences in stiffness as well.

    In the pic, i have superimposed the original scale of a Baldwin SD6 onto one i modified. The Original Rib 15 is a typical case of a small rib in between 2 large ones.

    -chris

    ------------------------------
    Chernobieff Piano Restorations
    "Where Tone is Key"
    chernobieffpiano.com
    grandpianoman@protonmail.com
    Lenoir City, TN
    865-986-7720
    ------------------------------



  • 50.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2021 02:26
    I don't find hammer string mating has much to do with sustain. Was that a claim?  I missed it. It affects focus, phasing and power, if it's off enough. I don't find string leveling to be transient. 

    All soundboards have resonant frequencies (not a desirable thing) and that can create sustain differences even with adjacent notes.  Adding mass can change those resonances. According to Del using radial rib arrays also reduces, but doesn't eliminate, those resonances. 





  • 51.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-20-2021 09:55

    David L <I don't find hammer string mating has much to do with sustain. Was that a claim?  I missed it. It affects focus, phasing and power, if it's off enough.

    Excellent...let's make it clear that sustain is not being effected by phasing corrections. I agree. However, in talking to techs, when faced with sustain issues, from the beginning, I have had well regarded techs come into my shop, listen to a note that had board resonance (sustain) problems, and ask first for a shank hook to check mating., This is where my frustration on this point comes from. This has happened, and still happens, again and again and again, and continues unabated to this day.  The first go to, in the techs I have spent time with, when encountering a board resonance issue, a sustain issue, especially for a site tech,  is to reach for a shank hook to correct mating...even though it has never addressed the sustain issue, and often makes it worse.

    The communication, as to what mating is supposed to do is simply not clear, at least in my experience. Silent assumptions rule the day. Sustain is often assumed to be a phasing issue.  But to be clear, and repeat, mating/phasing will not correct board resonance sustain issues.

    I'd like to just repeat that all by itself for the sake of clear communication...mating/phasing will not correct board resonance sustain issues.

    That means, if you are having sustain problems, don't expect mating to fix them, it will not. This, David Skolnick, this is what my post yesterday was trying to convey. 

    This concept is particularly problematic for site techs, who show up to work on a tonally problematic piano, one with sustain issues. If they take this concept to heart, ie, that mating will not correct sustain issues, they now have limited site tools to deal with the sustain issue.  Voicing may help a little, but if there is a board resonance problem, forget it, the lack of sustain will not go away.  There are techniques to deal with this, but we are talking about string leveling in this thread, aka phasing.

    Sustain issues,  in my experience, present  a tonal degradation of the instrument which, in order to be of any practical use, need to be improved by 50% or some large percentile like that.  When there are board resonance issues (which are endemic in the 1st capo section), major improvement in sustain is needed...big bang for the buck.

    Phasing, on the other hand, while offering improvements in tone, offers only incremental improvements. Sometimes, the incremental improvements are so small, only the tech can hear them, offering only single digit percentile  improvements.  Not big bang for the buck by a long shot.  Don't expect a big bang from phasing...it is very fine tweaking.

    So we are often left with a board which has had very fine tweaking performed to the phasing, but has a massive deficiency in sustain in the first capo particularly...and this happens almost 100% of the time! We address the single digit percentile tweaking, and leave the musically crippling sustain issue un addressed.

    In my own experience, when the sustain issue is improved, the improvement presents such a major improvement, that the fine tweaking does not bug me enough to sweat the phasing.  This , particularly when, in my own case, the phasing can be ameliorated to a great extent automatically, with better terminations at the bridge, and stringing techniques that allow the wires to follow natural curve tendencies. So I spend my time, these days, on the termination and wire travel component of phasing.

    There is one exception where mating does not effect sustain. Rather, make the Un-mating effects sustain. Carefully un-mating a problematic unison or section, on purpose, can help with a sustain issue somewhat. Why? Because the board cannot accept the level of energy the mated hammer is offering. Un-mating it adjusts how much energy the hammer is allowed to offer the board, irrespective of voicing techniques which are also used to adjust how much and how fast a hammer can deliver its energy to the unison.  By the way, I found this out by mistake, and was rather taken aback by it...but observed it, and respect the empirical value of the information.

     

    ps-Regarding the radial rib array, as a technique to limit the effect of board resonances (board resonances being tonally destructive),  I used radial arrays for the first 8 years of my board building. In no case, did I notice any empirical effect on sustain issues with these arrays, and , in some cases, the resonances were worse.  In addition the radial design adds unhelpful restrictions to the near rim conditions in the bass end of the structure, that create a whole set of other problems, at least in my experience.  I jettisoned radial arrays a good while ago.   




    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 52.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2021 11:58
    Jim

    I wrote a rather lengthy response which, as I was about to send, suddenly disappeared, argh. Let me summarize, I can't write it again.

    I agree that hammer/string mating won't address sustain.  But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.  There are other benefits of hammer string mating unrelated to the sustain issue as mentioned, power, phasing, the irritating "whine" when mating is not done properly.  That we (techs) might be the only one's who notice is not a good argument.  There are many things that only we might notice in isolation. But collectively all those little things add up to improved performance whether it's tone, touch, even tuning.  It's not an either/or decision.  We don't have to choose between setting the let-off or blow distance, we can do both.  Hammer/string mating is relatively simple and doesn't take that long and we don't have to do it repeatedly, at each servicing, it lasts and it matters.  

    That you might notice some benefit from out of phase unisons with respect to sustain is not a good reason, IMO.  Out of phase does sometimes seem to benefit sustain but there are better ways, namely, detuning the unisons just slightly.  Stuart, for example, advocates that on his pianos when a sustain issue arises that might be addressed that way.  I think that's a better approach if out of phase proves to be a benefit.  But as I mentioned, out of phase is only one problem with unmated hammers.  

    The soundboard resonance issue is an interesting one, worthy of a separate thread.  I'm not sure I agree with Chris that it's a rib design problem and the problem can be eliminated by a properly designed rib scale.  I think it's just a problem that exists in all stringed instruments: guitars, violins, cellos.  Even Strads have "wolf tones".  Where those tones appear might be related to the rib design but I'm not convinced that you can get rid of them completely.  I agree that radial arrays, even if they do help, present other problems, not the least of which is execution.  I've never figured out how to account for the ribs being closer together on the bent side than on the straight side in terms of design.  But I've heard radial array pianos that sound quite good.  I do think there's a danger of making them too stiff on the bent side which can affect the bass response.

    ------------------------------
    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
    ------------------------------



  • 53.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2021 14:51
    Jim

    Let me just add that I look at hammer string mating a lot like single string voicing. It's a refinement. Even small differences in mating can make a difference just like small differences in the hardness of the hammer between strings in a unison can when you listen to each string by itself, which I do in very refined voicing work. Those differences contribute to part of the whole. Soft hammers hide those differences a bit more, lacquered and firmer hammers are especially sensitive.

    ------------------------------
    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
    ------------------------------



  • 54.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2021 15:00
    And….(sorry hit send too soon). Even with the greatest efforts at the most refined voicing there will be differences in timbre (the recipe of partials and their individual strength) between notes because the board filters out different frequencies with different notes, even those that are adjacent to each other. The same is true of sustain. So the best we can do is to moderate those differences by being as careful as we can in all aspects of servicing. Those small differences might even be important in giving the piano some "life". But we don't want to go too far that way by not addressing the things that we are able to control.

    ------------------------------
    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
    ------------------------------



  • 55.  RE: String leveling tool

    Posted 08-20-2021 20:59
    Thank you for this last followup post. This is such an honest appraisal of what a really good tech can expect to see, given the nature of the complexities we face, even in our best work.

    Regarding the site eating your post, when I am writing a post that requires thought, I bag it and compose it in word. I have had the site eat my posts way too many times too.

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 56.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-20-2021 21:28
    1)  Totally with you on external composition, though it feels like some sort of life lesson when it happens... acceptance of not being in control, or of some higher being's (or logic's) sense of cosmic humor.
    2) So then, where does that leave us with the question of the best string leveling tool?   

    Just kidding.   Thanks for pursuing.

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------



  • 57.  RE: String leveling tool

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-21-2021 09:13
    Greetings all,

    I'm sorry to have been out for of the discussion 2 days during which it has turned in to a Hydra (with rib design, board mass loading, phase shifting, and unison mis-tuning - most of which is besides the point).

    Jim I. went:
    "Bill's 0.005" correction, on a system comprised of felt, felt/steel/wood bearings and wooden levers to a mechanical engineer, and you will have to peel said engineer off the floor in convulsive laughter."

    And we certainly don't set our 1mm of let-off on the basis of such a wide ranging context. we set it simply on how close we let the hammer get to the string before we pull the rug out from under it.

    "So I repeat, correct what? You assume we know what the devil we are correcting, to improbable thousandths of an inch."

    I know what I'm correcting, but in this discussion there are many other assumptions about such corrections, based on others' experiences. I'm simply making a case for my assumptions:
    1.) The source for the lion's share of out-of-level comes from steel wire which (soon after the final draft), is stored in a coil, but when we put it in a piano, is asked to run a straight line (down to the mils)
    2.) There may be such a thing as poorly-drilled aggraphes, but whatever that error is, it's added to (or superseded by) the above.
    3.) Given any and all factors which mess with the cross-unison string level between the start of the SL and the hammer strike point, that level is wobbling its way all through the SL, and the only place it wants to be corrected is the strike point. SPECIFICALLY.
    4.) While having our string leveling agree with the plane of the keyed (or even, the more complex string plane) is really beyond our control, it should be in our hearts, because as Alan Eder explained, these are Brownie Points to be paid off in the Afterlife. I'm totally down wit'dat. <G> For my next lifetime, I want to come back as a 9' concert grand, my days filled with a pianist's passion and tenderness. Far preferable to coming back as a toad.

    And that 5 mils? That was all some forty years ago, the same day I explored string level with a dial indicator in a machinist vice. I picked a handy note, with two strings contacted and the third string, not. The latter had the audible whine that bring us to leveling strings in the first place. The indicator, also handy, read that string 5 mils higher than its partners.

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------