Berlin, Freedom Bell

[Richard Offen]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "Bill Hibbert" <bill at ...> 
wrote:
>
> Alan, thank you so much for the prompt response and the tuning 
> figures. There is a good match with those I measured from the 
> recording. I have used some educated guesswork to interpret the 
> figures from the G&J records and others may be able to shed some 
light.
> 
> I am assuming that a figure such as 199 3/8+1/10 means that a fork 
> measured at 199 3/8 cycles per second beat against the relevant 
> partial with one beat in 10 seconds. 429 1/2+ 1 1/3 I took to mean 
a 
> fork with frequency 429 1/2 cycles per second beating at 1 1/3 
beats 
> per second (i.e. 4 beats in 3 seconds).
> 
> With this as background the figures that line up are as follows:
> G&J     Recording
> 82.1    86.8 (hum)
> 165     151.9 (prime)
> 199.5   198.1 (tierce)
> 355.2   334.4 (nominal - the G&J figure should be 335.2!)
> 504.2   502.5 (superquint)
> 699.8   694.9 (octave nominal)
> 916.9   910.8 (I-7)
> 1142.3  1138.6 (I-8)
> 1388.5  1382.2 (I-9).
> 
> Some comments on these figures:
> * the recorder used was running 0.5% slow
> * the G&J figure for the nominal is in error, 355Hz is an F, not an 
E
> * G&J struggled to measure the very low frequencies for hum and 
prime 
> using forks and I am not surprised.
> 
> I do not know the significance of the second batch of figures, 
> starting 731 LW&W.95&CR.
> 
> Thanks again for the figures, they confirm that this is definitely 
a 
> recording of the right bell.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Bill H
>

I well remember Wally Spragett telling me of his adventures tuning 
this bell.   It was one of G & J's early ventures into serious upper 
partial tuning and I suspect the figures you mention are something to 
do with that (haven't studied them properly yet to see).    

I seem to remember Wally saying that, because of the experiment, they 
made a bish of the tuning (can't remember what he said the error 
involved), but as the bell was never to be rung with any other, they 
let it go - would have been a rather expensive mistake had the bell 
needed recasting like the Wannermaker Bell a few decades earlier!

On a related matter, I remember seeing on several occasions Wally's 
personal tuning  note book from his days at Gilletts.   I wonder if 
Nigel Taylor can tell us if it's still at Whitechapel, or what 
happened to it?

Richard