Soundboard Thoughts

Horace Greeley hgreeley@leland.Stanford.EDU
Mon, 08 Dec 1997 18:23:39 -0800


Ron,

I agree in part and demur in part.

Some time ago there was a very great deal
of what propeller-heads would call vaporware
about bridge rolling.  This product of creation's
nether reaches was held responsible for everything
from tuning instability to fallen arches, err, crowns.

While it is quite clear that this _is_
a substantive problem in some pianos,
I've certainly seen some pretty decent
instruments with what would have been
considered unacceptable levels of "bridge
roll"...and not a few that have been 
severly damaged by attempts to "repair"
same.  

Was it Susan who suggested perhaps thinnner
ribs?  (Sorry, braindead)  In any event, several
of the AA and BB M&Hs I've done over the
years had not only more ribs, but smaller
ones (crossectionally).  These instruments
came out sounding (largely) like M&H
pianos used to, and had minimal amounts
of surgery required to re-establish good
bearing and termination.

Oh, yes, most of them did not exhibit any of 
the tone-enhancing ridging we've heard so
much about recently...

Best.

Horace

P.S. - Come back and I will taunt you yet
another time!

hg



At 06:21 PM 12/8/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Interesting thought. Might change the frequency response on one side enough
>to not cancel the other and kill the tone. 
>
>Observation: Even if this minimized or canceled the immediate tone problems
>in that area, there would still be the problem of torque with humidity
>changes. I think this is what drives the board flat at this point far faster
>than it flattens elsewhere. Sort of a "saddle" effect, with the killer
>octave at the low point of the curve. I think both the tone problems and
>early failure in this area are from the same problem. Tag!
>
>Ron 
>
>At 11:11 AM 12/7/97 -0800, you wrote:
>>Curiosity aroused:
>>
>>The "killer octave" has equal lengths of rib fore and aft of the bridge, and
>>the tone has trouble there. Has anyone ever tried making the ribs the same
>>length fore and aft, but making them much lighter and more flexible on one
>>side than on the other?
>>
>>What fun ... reminds me of that great string seating thread.
>>
>>Susan
>>-----------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Ron Nossaman
>
>
>
>
Horace Greeley

Systems Analyst/Engineer
Controller's Office
Stanford University

email: hgreeley@leland.stanford.edu
voice mail: 650.725.9062
fax: 650.725.8014


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