A little bit of humor (very little)

Am I following this correctly, but David Keenan suggested making
guitar strings with different and varying densities through there
lengths, and Paul Erlich countered by affirming that there would be
incredible inharmonicity in such an arrangement? Is this correct?
That's a little funny, isn't it?? And did Ed Borasky really suggest
tying a fishing sinker to the guitar string??

Wazzup here??
__________ ______ _____ _
Joseph Pehrson

[Joseph Pehrson:]
>Am I following this correctly, but David Keenan suggested making
>guitar strings with different and varying densities through there
>lengths, and Paul Erlich countered by affirming that there would be
>incredible inharmonicity in such an arrangement? Is this correct?
>That's a little funny, isn't it?? And did Ed Borasky really suggest
>tying a fishing sinker to the guitar string??

>Wazzup here??

It was I who suggested tying a fishing sinker to a guitar string, in

http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17104

as a way of illustrating the non-linear effect of non-linear string
density.

Yes, it is ironic (humorous) that a trick to achieve JI without moving
frets in essence defeats itself through nonharmonic partials. I see
the larger problem as the difficulty of making a substantial frequency
change by modifying only the extreme end of a vibrating string. That,
and the difficulty of achieving exact alignment of the string along its
axis.

JdL

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "John A. deLaubenfels" <jdl@a...> wrote:

http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17140

> It was I who suggested tying a fishing sinker to a guitar string, in
>
> http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17104
>
> as a way of illustrating the non-linear effect of non-linear string
> density.

Hello John...

I don't believe this is the correct post for this. There is nothing
about a fishing sinker tied to a guitar string in this post... (??)
______ ____ ____ _
Joseph Pehrson

[I wrote:]
>>It was I who suggested tying a fishing sinker to a guitar string, in
>>
>> http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17104
>>
>>as a way of illustrating the non-linear effect of non-linear string
>>density.

[Joseph Pehrson:]
>I don't believe this is the correct post for this. There is nothing
>about a fishing sinker tied to a guitar string in this post... (??)

Sorry, my mistake! Try

http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17033

JdL

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "John A. deLaubenfels" <jdl@a...> wrote:

http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17143

>
> http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17033
>
> JdL

Dave's idea is funny, because it's a great example of the
"theoretical" that... well...

Dave, you don't design bridges do you??

[Just joking... your contributions are far and away grander than the
drivel I keep shovelling out]
__________ ______ __ _
Joseph Pehrson

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "Joseph Pehrson" <pehrson@p...> wrote:
> --- In tuning@egroups.com, "John A. deLaubenfels" <jdl@a...> wrote:
>
> http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17143
>
> >
> > http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17033
> >
> > JdL
>
> Dave's idea is funny, because it's a great example of the
> "theoretical" that... well...
>
> Dave, you don't design bridges do you??

Guitar bridges? No. :-)

Tee hee. Thanks for a good chuckle Joseph.

It was one of those ideas that come while you're lying in bed
intending to go to sleep. I knew if it was a dumb idea, someone on the
lsit would tell me so, in the nicest possible way. And they did.
Thanks Paul and John.

I haven't done the experiment with the sinker yet. But I see now the
nonlinearity John referred to. Good experiment. It'd have to be a very
small one down near the bridge-end though, and crimped tightly to the
string. You can even get split sinkers so you wouldn't have to take
the string off to thread it on.

The questions then are:
1. By what proportion would you have to incresse the diameter of the
string uniformly above the first fret in order to lower its pitch by
29 cents (the difference between 25/24 and a 12-tET semitone).
Probably way too much.
2. How bad will the inharmonicities be (we'd use conical tapers or
something between sections)
3. How standard are guitar necks? Certainly absolute pitch is well
standardised. How much would the string stretch as it aged. Could we
compensate to some degree by taking up slack at the bridge?

I think number 1 is the real killer since it affects how much the
other two matter.

Regards,
-- Dave Keenan

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "Joseph Pehrson" <pehrson@p...> wrote:
> Am I following this correctly, but David Keenan suggested making
> guitar strings with different and varying densities through there
> lengths, and Paul Erlich countered by affirming that there would be
> incredible inharmonicity in such an arrangement? Is this correct?

Yup.

> That's a little funny, isn't it??

Don't get it!

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "John A. deLaubenfels" <jdl@a...> wrote:
>
> Yes, it is ironic (humorous) that a trick to achieve JI without moving
> frets in essence defeats itself through nonharmonic partials.

Oh, that's the joke! Yeah, I guess I really got Dave K. on that one -- hook, line, and sinker!

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "Paul Erlich" <PERLICH@A...> wrote:

http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/17221

> --- In tuning@egroups.com, "Joseph Pehrson" <pehrson@p...> wrote:
> > Am I following this correctly, but David Keenan suggested making
> > guitar strings with different and varying densities through there
> > lengths, and Paul Erlich countered by affirming that there would
be
> > incredible inharmonicity in such an arrangement? Is this
correct?

>
> Yup.
>
> > That's a little funny, isn't it??
>
> Don't get it!

Hi Paul!

I beleive John DeLaubenfels explains the (somewhat) humorous irony in
this situation... the fact that in trying for just, more
inharmonicity is created... I believe the post is a few down from
this!
______ ___ __ __
Joseph