Music Trade Review

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36
The Music Trade Review
NOVEMBER 13, 1926
The Technical and Supply Department—(Continued from page 35)
to graduate some of the figure showings in with
a string into vibration must depend upon the Some Hints on Selecting
some other face veneer so as to get an attractive
point at which the blow is delivered. By shift-
ing the striking place we can, to a certain
and Matching Veneers layout.
"This is one phase of the selective use of
extent, control the partial tone succession, and
therefore the tone color. This fact is expressed
in the practice of placing the hammers of a
pianoforte at selected points of the strings, the
positions of these points varying according to
the region of the scale in which each one is
found.
5. On the other hand, it was long since dis-
covered that the most agreeable quality of
sound can only be obtained when the hammers
are constructed of a relatively soft coating over
a hard base. Furthermore, the practical
exigences of construction have compelled ham-
mer makers to build their hammers with
rounded oval-faced contact surfaces, since it has
been impossible otherwise to obtain the needed
yieldingness of surface. This yielding quality
has been found necessary because a surface
which rebounds instantaneously invariably fails
to damp the upper dissonant partials mentioned
above.
6. This being so, it follows that the be-
havior of the hammer in its contact with the
string becomes a matter of much greater com-
plexity than might otherwise be suspected. The
yielding nature of the felt, the oval-shaped
(instead of knife-edge) hitting surface, the con-
sequent relatively large surface of wire which
receives the displacing blow, all introduce ele-
ments into the complex which have not as yet
been subjected to analysis. None of the ac-
cepted acoustic assumptions applies exactly to
the pianoforte string struck by the pianoforte
hammer, and consequently the whole subject
remains in obscurity, although, of course, the
principles laid down above remain true. The
only question is as to what modifying factors
should be introduced in the special case before
us. This is the problem of the pianoforte ham-
mer as it now stands.
In other words, if I have made myself clear,
here is a large and elaborate field of investiga-
tion awaiting the application of scientific
method. Hammer makers have had to do what
piano makers have wanted them to do. But
piano makers to-day are asking for more light,
and are turning to the supply men. The latter,
in turn, must make some fair attempt at satis-
fying these new requirements. It is for them
to undertake a survey of their methods, par-
ticularly with regard to the shapes, sizes,
weights, density, resiliency, and other physical
properties of the materials they use. For the
control of tone color is to be one of the great
issues of the coming generation.
Care in Selection Will Prove Economical in the
Long Run—Use of Odds and Ends Often
Produces Excellent Results
A few hints on selecting veneers and improv-
ing matching are contained in a short article
in the current issue of Veneers by S. Irvine. "It
may look like a nice orderly and proper thing,"
writes Mr. Irvine, "for those using veneer to
take each batch of veneer stock and use it up
clean as it comes instead of messing over it
and selecting some here and there. As a matter
of fact, however, this is an age in which we
profit more from a careful and selective use of
veneer, and sometimes we get the most pleasing
effect in face combinations from odds and ends
and leftovers of figured veneer.
"There come times, say when using up some
crotch and other fancy-figured veneer that is to
be matched up, those doing the matching, in the
course of selecting what they want to form each
particular face, throw aside and discard a lot of
pieces that do not fit in. Afterward one with a
gift for assembling and making something beau-
tiful out of what does not seem to match can
take an assortment of these leavings and develop
some beautiful face combinations. One sugges-
tion that has been made in this connection here-
tofore is that in the process of working up a lot
of fancy figures of this kind the odds and ends
and leftover pieces be all put in one general
pile for a while.
"From time to time go through this pile,
spread it out and see what it furnishes and what
can be made out of it in the way of special faces.
Sometimes there will be found various pieces
that can be matched up together and assembled
into a very striking panel. At other times, even
when no specific matching can be worked out,
it may be practical to get an attractive blend or
Australian Wool Sales
LONDON, November 8.—The third series of wool
sales opened at Sydney, Australia, to-day, with
an average selection and an irregular and re-
stricted competition. Continental buyers were
the chief operators.
Compared with the close of the preceding
series, best merinos were unchanged in price,
but other merinos were 7]^ per cent lower, and
greasy comebacks and crossbreds about 5 per
cent lower.
The present series closes on December 1 and
the total offerings scheduled are estimated at
165,000 bales.
Appointed Manager
Allan Welburn, formerly manager of one of
the stores of the O. K. Houck Piano Co., has
been appointed manager of the Claude P. Street
Piano Co., Nashville, Tenn.
TUNERS
AND
REPAIRERS
Correspondence
is solicited and should be addressed to William
Braid White, 5149 Agatite avenue, Chicago, 111.
WHY SACRIFICE
YOUR PROFITS
Our new catalogue of piano and
Player Hardware, Felts and
Tools is now ready. If you
haven't received your copy
please let us know.
HTHOUSANDS of dollars annually
•*• are lost to dealers because of dam-
age to varnished surfaces, necessitating
reduced selling price. It is easy now for
you to repair those varnished surfaces—
and our little book "How to Repair
Damage to Varnished Surfaces" tells
you how. This will be sent to you free
upon request.
The M.L. Campbell Co.
1OO8 W. 8th St.
veneer and there are several others. We can
go to the other extreme, for example, and take
a case where a lot of plain plywood is being
built up with no special attention to figure; may-
be most of the stock has no distinct figure color.
In the course of using it up, however, there is
likely to be encountered some here and there
that is different, that either has interesting color
or some showing of figure. Stock of this kind
has more value than plain veneer if it is properly
used and it will help to lay it aside and get an
accumulation of it which then may be sorted and
either matched or blended together so as to
make interesting faces and thus add to the
value of the product."
Kansas City, Mo.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co.
Standard of A m e r i c a
A l u m n i of 2 0 0 0
Piano Tuning. Pipe and Reed Organ
and Player Piano. Year Book Free
27-29 G*in»boro Street
BOSTON. MASS
.
New York. Since 1848
4th Ave. and 13th St.