For an 1860s Broadwood restoration I have had lots of conflicting advice on the use of 'Pure Sound' wire. Some say it best emulates the type of wire no longer made from this period the best, others (including my bass-string maker) are critical of these claims. 'Pure Sound' controversially use stainless steel but are the only company I know of that specialise in replica wire for the 1850 to 1900 period. In England pianos of this date rarely have value and not many outfits will bother with them. The other thing I heard about 'Pure Sound' wire is that it's inconsistent in quality as you move through the guages. Can anyone shed light on this?

Pure Sound is great stuff to work with. I've heard it even being used in spinets and consoles with good results. Pure Sound is easy to work with. I've used it to restring a Bosendorfer from the 1850s with amazing results. Modern wire is much to stiff and requires more tension which leads to tuning problems, sustain problems and volume problems.

I'm getting ready to use it in an Erard from the 1860s.

The gauge is totally different from Modern wire. It is not made to be measured by the same guages as modern as it is meant to be measured to the historical standard. Its main purpose is to mimic the wire used of that time. Its a different composite similiar to the old but a little more refined.

Most people like to compare it to modern wire just like the way they like to compare modern to historical pianos.

The person who I recommend for you questions is Mr. Edward Swenson. He is a great source for help and supplies.

Also a side note- You have piano made by one of the best makers of the time. Beethoven's favoured piano was his Broadwood and Chopin loved the one he used in his time spent in London. Most Piano techs know little or nothing about historical instruments so the appreciation is little. Your best bet is to contact Mr. Swenson or even Mr. Winston from Period piano co. in England.

I use soft iron on my 1800 Broadwood from Malcolm Rose - http://www.malcolm-rose.com/. Ring for advice, he's very helpful.

Yes, I use Malcolm Rose for pre 1850, I think his wire is great on wooden framed instruments but it doesn't stand up to the higher tensions associated with a full cast iron frame.. Or so I'm told!

Shame you're so far away. I need a tuner!

OK, I am sitting here in front of my computer, too lazy to go get my Schaff catalog. So where do I purchase this "Pure Sound" piano wire? Does Schaff carry it? If not where?

My business Piano Forte Supply is the general distributor of Pure Sound wire for North America. I am neither a scholar of early pianos, nor a metallurgist, but I do know a few things about this wire.
There is nothing controversial about the metal alloy used. The fact that it is stainless is somewhat incidental. The idea is that this wire closely approximates the physical and tonal properties of wire common between 1850 - 1890 or so. As well, the use of "replica wire" and "replica piano" in the thread title are somewhat ambiguous.

Josef, thanks for sharing your positive impression. However,
Sorry, but this is absolutely wrong.. Pure Sound is made in standard, modern European wire gauges. Incidently Röslau, the famous German wire, has the identical wire gauges. The European wire gauges differ from the American ones in that the wire is about 1/2 gauge smaller. Here is a precise gauge comparison chart

More info on Pure Sound can be found here

Sorry for being wrong about measurements.

Hello Jurgen

When should one use Pure Sound Wire instead of Roslau wire?

I have been using Roslau on pianos that are from late 1800's to very modern pianos, eg Yamaha and Kawai's etc...

When and how does one decide to use Pure Sound wire instead of Roslau?

Thank you

Mark

What matters is the weight per unit of length, rather than the gauge, anyway.

Mark, it i a scaling question. Never use Pure Sound in a situation without looking at the scaling. There are modern pianos that PS can be used on the whole, for example low tension scale piano such as S&S models up to C and D. But don't put it on any piano without being sure about the tensions.

This can be done manually or with scaling software. There are even scaling software programs that have the Pure Sound inharmonicity coefficients and tensile strengths embedded, such as "Bonamens" and one more with a catchy name that eludes me at the moment....

There was a thread back in October about the use of Pure Sound to overcome scaling problem areas in modern pianos.

Hello BDB and Jurgen

Thank you very much for your responses.

Scaling is an area of piano technology which I need to look into so I can understand and apply it. It does seem that there is not to much information about it, but I stand to correction.

Thank you

Mark

There are two books which I am going to read which I think deal quite thoroughly with scale calculation: the one is by John Travis - A Guide To Restringing and the other is by Samuel Wolfenden - The Art Of PianoForte Construction.

Mark

Jurgen, you are a valuable asset to this forum! Thanks for the info.
I am going to calculate the tensions and order the guages this week, and I shall inform my bass-string maker that things have come on in the last six years! One question you might be able to help with:
The Broadwood stringing eyes were twice wrapped round the hitch pin before coming back up for the usual three coils and short tail. Does the make-up of Pure Sound wire respond ok to this kind of eye or is a conventional german eye (once round the hitch) more appropriate for the lower tensile properties of the wire? My inclination would be to put back like for like, but of all the broken strings on the instrument about a fifth had snapped at the eye instead of at the wrest-pin coil. As usual your wisdom is appreciated!

Mark,

I have an Estonia 190. It had scaling problems with the stiffer Roslau wire. I fought the problem for three years.

A couple of moths ago, we tried just one string with Jurgens' Pure Sound. The difference was more than remarkable. All the problems I had fought, for so long, disappeared.

And yet the sound is very close to the Roslau.

You can hear a difference--the Pure Sound is sweeter, more mellow, but that sound diff. can be fixed by voicing.

Actually, I'd like to have my whole instrument in Pure Sound.

For new wire, it is holding pitch better than any I have ever used.

I can't recommend it highly enough: whether you are using it for an "older sound," or to fix problems with some of the other modern wires.

Had it not been for the wire, my piano would have gone back to the factory. Now I have the instrument sounding, as it should.

And no, I'm not employed by Jurgen, just am grateful that the wire he sells saved my piano.

Bob

Delacey -
I don't think the double loops are a problem for the wire per se. That fact that some strings of unknown wire broke at the loop will help to make this point;
Any wire can easily be weakened by manipulating it - bending it unneccsarily back and forth or even bending it too quickly. Those loops were probably bent and twisted at some point, perhaps during stringing or even at the string making stage.

Pure Sound is even more sensitive to mechanical abuse than regular piano wire. Bass string makers must slow down a little when making the loops, and use tools such as pliers etc that have smooth faces. Once the surface of the wire is nicked, the tensile strength will probably be impacted.

One thing I would ask of you - is there any way you could change the title of this thread? It irks me every time I see it. Pure Sound is neither a replica wire, nor is it made for replica pianos.... I don't even know what both of those are... :^)