Hi Everybody! Del -- have you seen one of these pianos yet? Today a customer asked me to look at a Charles Walter Grand she is considering buying. What I saw was an instrument with a tone like none other in its size class (it is *only* 6'3"...), you would swear that the bass belonged to a substantially larger piano. Two other technicians were also there, admiring the piano and getting a closer look. We were particularly struck by the ribs/soundboard design. For starters, the ribs did not go into notches in the liner. They were tapered, yes, but, they ended just short of the inner rim. Furthermore, the soundboard had, for all practical purposes,what appeared to be a wide "bridge" on the underside under the bass section. Perhaps that is to help focus the tone in towards the center of the board? There were ribs on each side of but not touching this, rather than running through it. ... Through the years, I had been taught that a mark of a cheaper piano was that the ribs do not go into a notched liner. Mr. Walter is an engineer who is known for his ambition to produce top-quality instruments. Would this be an example of his expertise blowing a commonly-held belief *out of the water*? Very curious now -- ZR! RPT Ann Arbor MI diskladame@provide.net
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