> Right again Bill.  You can never hide a new string until it has had
> time to mature.
>
Now the subject is raised I'd be interested to hear the collective
experience of instrument owners and builders:

1. What is the time that is felt to be required for newly strung wire to
tonally match the existing wire on an instrument, for both iron and brass?
(they are different) hours? days? months?

2. Describe these tonal changes which occur for a newly strung string?

I don't like the term "mature" in this context, which implies "fully
developed" or "complete", i.e. a value judgement that it is somehow
incomplete when newly strung, which is not the case. The two tonal
characteristics are just different. In reality it is simply a
metallurgical phenomenon which causes the tonal change after stringing -
this process might better be described as "stabilizing".

Stephen

Stephen Birkett Fortepianos
Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos
464 Winchester Drive
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2T 1K5
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