What is Plate Mounting?

Strings exert pressure on top of the bridge that is called down bearing. The correct amount of
down bearing is vital to produce good tone; too little and the strings' vibrations are not transferred to the bridge, too much and the soundboard will not vibrate freely. The amount
of pressure on the bridge depends on the position of the plate.

Traditionally, plates were supported on wooden dowels. Starting with the dowels too long, the worker would estimate how much to cut off each dowel, remove the plate, trim the dowel, replace the plate, and repeat the process until the plate was in the correct position.

Then screws are fit through the plate holes to press the plate firmly against the wooden dowels.
The pressure has a tendency to compact the wood. Over a period of time the screws need to be
retightened. This results in further compacting and lowering of the plate position.

Yamaha Plate Mounting System

The engineers at Yamaha created platforms for their plate to set on that are made of metal, not wood. These platforms are on the top of screw type bases that fit into the holes in the inner rim.

If this fixture is turned clockwise, the platform is lowered, and if turned counter clockwise, the platform raises.

With all of the platform fixtures in place, and the plate resting on them, the proper plate setting
can be regulated by a tool placed through the holes in the plate into the fixtures.

Once all of the fixtures are correctly adjusted, machine bolts are fitted through the holes and tightened into the fixtures to secure the plate.


Come and see this brilliant design at Natural Piano Center!