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Is he even still doing it? Last I saw he had started making videos about "America's backroads".

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation (e.g. "if this then that"). "Theoretically," essentially means "maybe it will, maybe it won't." So, you ought not include the word "theoretically" in a hypothesis ( e.g. not "if this then theoretically that"). That's actually exactly the distinction that a well-defined experiment ought to be concretely determining.

Although it's poorly constructed, you word choice belies your bias and contempt, as does ending by repeating your earlier insult. A bonafide scientist should be unbiased, and dispassionate.

Frankly, the hasty "experiment" doesn't even indicate that you truly grasp the issue under discussion, let alone test for it. You're throwing around buzz words like "random" and "controlled," but you don't seem to account for those characteristics.

You're welcome to revise and resubmit.

James is obviously sincere in his love of music and the piano.He has been interested almost all of his life.I am always amazed at the number of many people who are delighted with him.One elderly woman I know just loves his piano delmmonstrations.As for making money with his interest why not? I would rather watch him than someone playing dreadfully with the sustain pedal constantly depressed



http://aloveofmusic.com/

He’s posted two piano videos in the last two weeks,

Of course you are the winner Sonepica, who would doubt that!😉

I hope that someone is declared a winner after 284 posts.

Reminds me of the chorus of a Carly Simon song from 1972...

I’m beginning to warm up to him. I can never dislike someone with a passion for the piano and just wants to share his ideas. Very enthusiastic in his videos. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says but some of his videos can be entertaining.

Blah blah blah ….. blah blah.

The one with Mick Jagger on backing vocals? This whole forum is going that way!

Perhaps you do better experimental work in the sandbox. I do mine at the wave table of life where I test hypotheses against reality. "Random" is to be eliminated as much as possible.

After nearly 50 years of inspecting and reshaping V-bars; my hand has a very good feel for what the plate metal is like. Many of these pianos I have reshaped V-bars on I have been maintaining for this whole time too. No problems with string buzzes/noises or breakage. In fact I have had a total of three strings break out of the many thousands I have installed over my career and one of those was a wound string.

My hypotheses are all within the bounds of known material science and vibratory modes behavior. I employ Occam's razor.

And somehow you think that your experience differs from others who do not worry about the stuff you worry about.

There is very little differentiating on how you draw your conclusions compared to how members of the flat earth society draw theirs.

This is not to say that what you are concluding may not be true. It is interesting and may be useful to the manufacturing of pianos, but you have to test it first before you claim it be fact. Everything makes sense to the flat earthers because their conclusions seem so obvious but science says otherwise.

The fundamental concept behind Occam's razor is that of two competing theories, the simpler explanation of an entity is to be preferred. I'm not a piano rebuilder but it would seem to me that the reason why piano strings break is simply because they have been fatigued beyond their breaking point either due to corrosion or overuse. Your proposition that strings break because molecular sized razors of diamond hardness are cutting into them is hardly the simpler explanation of the two.

I've never had a string break in a piano I've owned. Should I expect them to if the V-bar was not shaped to your specifications?

I don't use his videos myself, but if he's found a way to make a living as a musician, more power to him.

No? It seems a simple explanation to me. Whether it is true or not I have no idea. I am not a materials scientist. I suspect you are not either.

There's a difference between simple and simpler. In my line of work I deal with the human body and we are also dealing with solid materials such as dense connective that experiences "creep" such as ligaments or tendons that overstretch and eventually can rupture or deform permanently when placed under long term mechanical stress.

Unless any piano builder or rebuilder wants to correct me but the most simple explanation of why some piano strings break is due to long-term exposure to high levels of stress that are still below the yield strength of the metal. They are simply overstretched over time from being hit repeatedly by the hammers and being stretched from repeated stress from from numerous tunings over time. I would think the yield strength is compromised if the metal had also been exposed to the elements and became corroded over time. Another contribution may be manufacturing defects. The common factor in all of this is that the tensile strength of the string had been exceeded not because something is cutting through them.

This is the simpler explanation of why strings break, not because of abrasive elements that form in the construction of a V-pro plate- which if it was true we, we would see strings breaking more often in V-pro plate pianos over sand casted plate pianos and as far as I know, no one can validate this observation. Or has there been an abundance of piano owners coming into the shop with V-pro plated pianos complaining of broken strings?

EXACTLY !!

Corrosion aside, Jethro, where does this theory predict strings will break? At contact points (tuning pin, v-bar, bridge pins, hitch pin) or at random points in between?