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This is my recommendation for bending the piano's plain wire in an effort to 1) minimise falseness/false-beats, 2) reduce the amount of string levelling necessary for high-level voicing and damper work, and 3) prevent an earlier onset of the dreaded "capo-buzz!!!"

This procedure involves three bends--in specific directions--that control the direction/path of the wire's natural curvature.

NOTE: there are no false-beat causing twists/turns in the entire length of the wire (i.e., the coil is purposefully wound on the side of the natural curvature of the wire--not with/under the natural curvature; this is more common/easier, but then introduces a twist when later installed onto the tuning pin).

Because the piano wires travel straighter, there is less need to level strings. This is a great benefit: bending/whacking anywhere in the speaking length of a string--especially at/around the termination points--will create falseness in tone. So, if you don't have to do it, don't! Manhandling piano wire may be a viable persuasion in the real world, but there is no place for that kind of brutality in high-end musical instruments indented for concerts.

So you advocate placing the coil 90 degrees from the natural curve. Have I git that correct.

If you shape the capo bar to a definite V with a 0.5mm string contact point-no capo buzzes ever.

Bend #1: in the middle, around at the side (90 degrees) to the natural curvature of the wire.


NOT like this: the natural curvature of the wire! This is a much more common approach.

A bend with the natural direction of the wire would result in no twists on the right string, but string that wonders more in a R/L plane around the termination points; the 1/2 twist necessary to install the left wire onto the tuning pin would result in a slightly up/down and different R/L points of wondering at/around where the hammers/dampers contact the strings. This one, seemingly insignificant, bend of the wire introduces a tremendous amount of unnecessary and unwanted chaos into a systems with a direct affect on the ability to do high-level voicing (i.e., hammer-to-string fitting) and damper work.

Bends #2&3: the becket bends, around at the side (90 degrees) to the natural curvature of the wire. The end result should resemble a UU/CC, with both ends pointing straight up/down.

Now, that, is a happy piano wire, indeed!

Yep.

I haven't experienced enough of the 'ever' part for myself yet, but I do assume your statement to be true (i.e., based on my limited experiences with shaping polishing so far).

I don't know how much longer this approach might hold off a potential buzz, but it could/should help, at least a little--it will depend on the angles involved, the weight of the hammers, how much the piano is played, and how much string levelling occurs (i.e., pulling up to level strings, on a piano with a thick capo contact point, will make the problem worse; so, creating naturally more level/consistent strings in the (re)string process--by reducing the need to aggressively level the strings--should prolong the onset of an early capo buzz).

Of course, the real problem should be addressed at the capo at the next restringing.

Thanks for the pics. The descriptions are clear.
Is not it reducing the amount of possible massaging up later?

Do you still massage with heat your strings ? (I find it again yesterday to thicken and clear the tone on some replaced strings on an old Boesenderfer.)
A hammer shank suffice.

I will test your process soon.
So bend with pliers for the one around pin?

Hmmmmm. I use the "traditional" method and my wire seems to be very happy with no weeping or wailing that I can hear. There's a slight chance that I'm a bit insensitive. In the future I'll have to take a little more time to try to ascertain the happiness of my wire installations. If false beats are any indication, the stuff is pretty happy.

Thanks A443, I'm learning a lot!


HW

I must be missing something... I don't see how either method is different when it comes to adding any twist to the string, as long as you control the plane of the coil created during winding. I do see the wandering left/right issue, so will give this a try!

Thanks

Ron Koval

Is your statement in the "fascinating video" thread, that "unfortunataly, no string leveling" an exaggeration to make a point or a literal statement?

With bends that agree, do you do any massaging, gentle shaping of the catenary bend, minor leveling.

I must say, regarding leveling, that I have always taken the "Leveling" that high level techs claim as a requirement to be something whose attainment exceeds the physical limitations of steel wire. As in, aggressive corrective leveling probably lasts about as long as it takes for the check to clear. In addition to this, in my own rebuilding work, when string level needs serious correction, that correction without pushing the wire past its elastic limit, is often unattainable. I no longer beat up on out-of-level strings.

I also think that the requirements of leveling become more critical when hard heavy hammers are used on boards which are not very responsive, new or old. With my boards, which are quite responsive, have reasonable to low tension scales, cold pressed light hammers, minor leveling inconsistencies just are not the problem they are in systems that are pushed to the high performance limit. As in anything that is referred to high performance, high performance always means on the knife edge of dysfunction, hence the need for super anal, yet far from long term leveling.

Thoughts?

Jim Ialeggio

Something that has some bearing here is that the OP has given no indication of any level of affiliation or level of experience with the piano service field, or the piano industry in general.

How are you making your coil?

Many people wind the wire around the tuning pin with their hands/fingers, and then whack that pin into the block, or transfer the coil to a pin already in the block. When using this method, the coil follows the path of least resistance and goes along the natural curvature of the wire. Using the 'traditional' first-bend orientation means the left coil will be on the wrong side and requires a 180 degree inversion.

If you have a jig that helps makes a neat coil, it is possible to use the 'traditional' first bend, as long as you make the coil on the left string going in the reverse direction (i.e., back against the natural direction of the wire). However, you'd still have the problems of wires taking different paths as they transverse different contact points.

I certainly hope this thread does not devolve into a comparison of professional "genitalia". I really do not give a dam about a long winded polemic regarding respective Curriculum Vitae.

Back to topic,
I do find that string leveling by working slight vertical bends in the wire is very stable over time once the string creep has settled down. As you get into the note 60's range and above-most of the phase fitting of unisons must be done at the strike surface of the hammer.

In the past, I have used the term 'false-beat' to describe any unwanted falseness in the tone of the piano wire--whether or not they actually create "beats." Some languages focus on "string falseness"--in contrast to actual false-beats--while others prefer to differentiate between falseness and false-beats in their terminology. The defining line between the two terms, like string falseness, is somewhat blurry.

Falseness includes issues where the pitch (i.e., the multiple frequencies of the different partials) does not remain predictably stable. When partials begin deviating abnormally from their expected behaviour, the level of falseness begins to subjectively increase. A good tone is one that remains stable: a tone that wavers back-and-forth (i.e., speeds up and slows down), or one that falls/raises as its decays is the main issue that I hear in string falseness. It doesn't have to be as bad as a "false-beats" to register aurally as "string falseness."

I'm sure glad harpsichords don't have this problem since every string is terminated separately. Of course harpsichords break strings if you look at them funny.

Quite true!!

Are you saying that you only pull up when doing string leveling?

I believe this to be the case. When the capo is level, and the wire is installed properly, I find there there is no need for any levelling (i.e., the wires are close enough). If I really want it to be absolutely perfect, I will lightly massage upwards with something wooden...if I absolutely have to.

I use two needle nose pliers to make the first bend--this keeps the wire curvatures in alignment. Then I make the becket bends, then insert into a coil maker/winder jig/tool.

the tone "purity" is something noticeable, that can be recorded and also graphed. So probably you will have more data to support your claim.

out of curiosity, is it something you noticed in a factory ?

Thanks, the missing part is that wire need to be massaged and heated, visibly. this is not only to stabilize by stretching, the tone color change for a hotter, more silky one.

No, that statement was referring to what increases the problem of capo buzzing/noise. Aggressively pulling up on the wire, because of the resultant decreased space between the string and the capo, worsens that problem.

I'm saying any deformation in the speaking length is not a good idea: it causes falseness in the string's tone.

If it is a new wire, installed in the way I outlined, pushing down doesn't do anything. If I am working with someone else's work, however, my procedure it to push down first (i.e., since it is common for technicians to yank upwards when levelling)--if pushing back down is not enough--only then do I pull up. But, again, any of these procedures is likely to cause a deterioration in the tone.

I don't have enough experience/data to say whether or not massaging the string with friction has a +/- effect on string falseness. However, if I had to, I rather do this than aggressive bends/impacts. But, I still maintain that it is best to leave the strings alone, and make small changes at the hammer/damper.