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14
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
THE REVIEW'S TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT.
Conducted and Edited by Win. B. White.
Our recent and well-meant remarks on the sub- either. I read your paper hoping to learn some-
ject of string fractures have brought down upon thing, but when I get romance I will read some-
our devoted head a storm of criticism, and even thing easier.
You may wonder and say, "Who in thunder are
invective, from readers sarcastically or con-
temptuously inclined. Some of the letters with you?' Well, I am only one of those Western
which the department has been favored have fellows who learned his trade in a small shop
brought disquietude even to our well hardened where a fellow has to do everything, from key-
mind. Others have been milder, but none the making to rubbing, from action work to jointing
less either derisive or pitying. We take the op- sound-boards, from cutting up stuff into dimen-
portunity here of printing certain of these, to sions for case work to boring plates, pin-blocks
the end that our readers may learn how un- or belly-bridges, and from outside tuning to piano
happy sometimes is the editor's lot. The two moving. Say, Mr. Editor, I have been doing that
which we have chosen for publication here are for forty years, since May 1, 1866. A few people
both, curiously, from Texas—one from Fort of your city know me well, and I know all the
old-timers in the piano business, as I read the
Worth and the other from El Paso!
trade papers and make it a point to keep posted.
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Editor, Technical Department.—1 have just Now, brother, don't call this window dressing, be-
read Mr. George L. Maitland's letter and your cause I am not looking for a job. I have one,
reply in the December 2 number, and wish to and have held it down for some years already.
say that I consider Mr. Maitland eminently right. « Yours truly, H. L. Decker, El Paso, Tex.
In tuning, the strings nearly always break at
This is really very dreadful! Truly, Brother
the pin. The performer generally breaks them Decker, we young fellows must take off our col-
at the wrestplank bridge, or near it; seldom or lective hats to one of the "old-timers." It has
never at the belly bridge. Some of the very high usually been supposed that the young man was
grade pianos are difficult to tune, and more liable always the more positive in his statements, and
to string breakage when raising the pitch than more inclined to assert his superior knowledge;
are instruments of cheaper makes. In tuning, I but here is a veteran outdistancing us all.
handle the hammer with the right hand, but gen- There are parts of your letter, esteemed col-
erally throw it over toward the bass side of the league, that are almost impolite, but your breezy
pin. I have followed tuning a good deal in the freshness takes away all the possible offence.
past twenty-five years, and think I understand We note inconsistency in your statements, how-
the art. Yours truly, L. W. Norcross, Fort ever. Every one hitherto has agreed that strings
Worth, Texas.
do often break at the wrest-plank. Our Fort
We have no doubt that you do understand the Worth correspondent, whose letter is printed
art, good brother; but why such very positive above, also makes that statement. We are not
statements? We certainly did not make that alone in our championing of this, by any means.
famous remark concerning string fracture before
It is really too bad* that you seem to consider
having quite some experience in replacing that we are developing a tendency toward ro-
broken strings. Nor did we speak of them break- mance. We certainly were quite unconscious of
ing at the belly bridge from any idea that they this. Of course, it wouid be terrible if you were
ought to break there, but simply because we have to lose faith in the general accuracy of our state-
continually observed that they do break right ments; but does it not occur to you that one in
there! Regarding the matter of tuning with the our position must necessarily preserve the strict-
right hand, we have already expressed our opin- est care at all times in the preparation of every
ion quite freely; but the statement as to throw- detail of information that appears on this page?
ing the hammer over to the bass side of the pin You really must not impute inaccuracy to us so
is simply a further acknowledgment of the cor- recklessly, especially as you are yourself guilty
rectness of our position, and a compromise with of a decidedly questionable statement regarding
the correct mechanical manner of handling the the wrest-plank bridge as a point for string frac-
implement.
ture. But such letters as yours are chastening in
their effect upon the haughty editorial mind, and
This letter was plain spoken enough, but there are therefore welcome, for their medicinal ef-
is worse to come. Observe the following:
fect. Let us hear from you often.
Editor, Technical Department.—Dear Sir—I,
too, like Brother Maitland, was surprised to see
This controversy has been quite interesting,
your statement that a string is likely to be but we are compelled to put a period to it. Read-
broken at or near the wrest-plank bridge. They ers are asked, therefore to note that the incident
don't do that way in Texas. Here they break at is closed—for the present at least.
the tuning pin. Once before you said something
like that, and I wanted to write you about it, but
The following inquiry is commended to the
1 was very busy, and after a few days passed I careful consideration of all who follow the doings
concluded that it was a slip of the pen. But of this department:
when you repeat it I come to the conclusion that
Editor, Technical Department.—My Dear Sir:
you really mean it. Perhaps you have been so I have been an interested reader of your depart-
fortunate as not to come across such high strung ment since its inception, and have derived much
snapping pianos as Brother Maitland and my- benefit from it. You will confer a favor on me
self have had to wrestle with. I admit that I if you can tell me any good remedy for warped
do not go so far as to break five strings out of keys. This trouble, as you know, frequently oc-
ten, for after one or two break with me I simply curs in cheap pianos, even when they are quite
change my method. I do not find that it is al- new, and gives them a very unsightly appearance.
together high grade pianos that are so subject It also makes nice regulation impossible. Re-
to these troubles, but rather pianos with high spectfully, A. B. Beakbane, Glens Falls, N. Y.
tensioned scales that have run down in pitch,
It is perfectly true, as our correspondent re-
and have stood low for a long time. These are marks, that cheap pianos frequently suffer from
subject to string breakage. Now, Mr. Editor, I just such defects as warping or twisting of the
am very much interested in the Technical De- wooden portions of the key levers. The remedy
partment, and I don't like to see you make such depends, naturally, upon the precise manner in
awful mistakes when writing about something which the disease shows itself. If the twisting
of which I have knowledge, because it might occurs toward the front of the keys, it will often
have a bad effect on me when I read something be easy to respace them by manipulating the
in your department that I am not sure about. front rail pins of the key-frames. If the defect,
I might conclude that you are not sure of it, on the other hand, is found on the other side of
the balance-rail pin, and near the action, a few
shaves with a plane should always remove the
trouble. This, however, must be done cautiously,
as the weight of the key cannot be changed with-
out doing harm to the action adjustment. Un-
sightliness of the front parts of the keys can
be remedied by adjusting the front-rail pins, as
long as the direction of the travel of the keys is
not distorted. The operator should be careful to
see that the oval front-rail pins are so adjusted
as not to cause the keys to stick. Of course, there
are other forms of this disease, but our corre-
spondent framed his question in such general
terms that a more definite answer is impossible.
In this connection, we might remark that many
tuners are somewhat careless in seeing to the
spacing of keys. Nothing spoils the exterior ap-
pearance of a piano so much as a line of imper-
fectly spaced ivory keys. They remind one of
nothing so much as of an irregular set of teeth
in a pretty girl's mouth, and if our readers are
like ourselves, reverent admirers of the fair sex,
tney will probably be inclined to agree with us
that this is a most mournful sight.
Doubtless many tuners have observed that
there is great divergence of practice among man-
ufacturers regarding the methods of balancing
keys. We have always believed in uniform touch
weight, and the experienced tuner must continu-
ally observe that manufacturers are somewhat
careless in attending to this important matter.
Of course, we do not refer to the fine high grade
instruments, but to the general run of pianos.
Two ounces and a quarter should be the stand-
ard weight that will suffice to depress a key, and
the leverage of the action ought to be adjustea
so as to overcome the resistance of the hammer
when just this weight is impressed by the finger,
regardless of the weight of the hammer. Such
adjustment requires very careful balancing and
weighting of the keys, as well as accurate calcu-
lation regarding the leverage power given to the
key. The balance rail is the most important sin-
gle feature here, and its position can be accurate-
ly calculated, so as to give any required leverage
to the key. Likewise, we have to consider the
position of the capstan screw or its equivalent.
The arrangement of the scale is often to blame
for key troubles, as it entails undue twisting of
the line of the keys and consequent strain upon
the holes and bushings around the balance rail.
For this there is no direct remedy, of course.
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A Merry Christmas to you all, esteemed
brethren. May the coming year be very prosper-
ous to every one of you. You have our best
wishes and we hope we have yours.
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Communications for the department should be
addressed to the Editor, Technical. Department,
The Music Trade Review.
Robert S. Gourlay, of Gourlay, Winter & Leem-
ing, Toronto, Canada, has been spending some
days in New York.
J. Atkinson, a well-known tuner, is handling
the Price & Teeple pianos at 517 Broadway, Cape
Girardeau, Mo.
TUNERS!
D O N ' T purchase any
new tools until you have
consulted our catalogue!
We make a specialty of
TUNERS' TOOLS, OUTFITS
and SUPPLIES at very
reasonable prices.
THE TUNERS' SUPPLY CO.
FRANKLIN SQUARE,
BOSTON, MASS.
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