Kawai RX Bridges

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Ron and Don:

I believe I have seen the mah-map bridge laminations in older Baldwin 
grands and even in some high quality uprights like Ivers & Pond, M&H.

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Sun, 11 Jan 1998, Don Mannino wrote:

> Ron,
> 
> I'm not the designer, but I asked the piano design engineer the same 
> question when I was in Japan a couple of years ago.
> 
> The mahogany laminations in the bridge root are there to adjust the mass 
> and flexibility of the bridges. Each piano model (RX-2, RX-3, etc) has 
> different thicknesses and numbers of laminations according to the string 
> and rib scaling of that model. I don't know how they devised the optimum 
> for each scale, whether empirically through testing or by some kind of 
> calculation.
> 
> I have seen the same setup in other pianos, but I can't remember for sure 
> which they were. Seems to me Fazioli has this design, and I'm pretty sure I 
> saw it on a Hamburg Steinway some time ago. Has anyone else seen a mix of 
> maple and mahogany in bridge roots?
> 
> Don Mannino RPT
> 
> ----------
> From: 	Ron Nossaman[SMTP:nossaman@SOUTHWIND.NET]
> 
> I've got a question for Don Manino about the Kawai RX series bridges... 
> why?
> What prompted the alternating vertical laminations of what looks like maple
> and mahogany?
> 
> 
> 
>