The Riblets yes.... definitely interesting and worth a try. Let me know how they work on the Seiler... as I have a similar Seiler with what sounds like exactly the kind of sound you refered to in the same place. Not exactly a killer octave syndrom is it.. ?... just a weakish (tubby??) thinned out sound. Not particularly percussive or short sustain... just not very nice and full. Anyways... to my own idea. Seems to me that the idea behind these and other schemes... if it is about adding stiffness... is that it really is about the downbearing pressure of the strings... both in static and in vibrational modes. I mean where are these riblets installed yes ??... I'm not an engineer... but the idea I had was to use opposing neodymium magnets... very powerful things. Two opposing 45 mm Ø 5 mm thick magnets will support about 50 kilos at 2-3 mm distance. Anyone figuring how much load support there is right under the bridge by any given rib will quickly understand that an added 50 kilos for what amounts to about 10 grams of mass tops is quite a bit. I did do a very coarse experiment a couple years back on one of these little Knudsen pianos we have all over the place here... very easy to access the back. At the time I was more interested in looking at what kind of pitch change they would cause when adjusted closer or farther apart as part of the whole pitch change for season change discussion.... so I didnt pay so much attention to what kind of sound difference there was created. Wrong kind of instrument for that anyways me thinks. In any case... strikes me that opposing magnets might have an even better result then riblets or other such devices... and to boot one can actually <<tune>> their effect by simply adjusting the distance between them. One magnet screwed into the soundboard directly under the bridge... the other on a cross beam attached to the bracing so that one can adjust the height of the magnet from underneath with a simple screw. Worth a try anyways... Cheers RicB Well, since my boss, Ed Sutton, has spoken up, here's a sneak peek at a TT & T item from the November Journal. If you are going to make riblets, Darrell Fandrich has modified the design (see picture)--he reported to me that by stepping off the back they perform better than the originals (with the curved back). Barbara Richmond, RPT near Peoria, Illinois
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