Thought I'd start a new thread. The other day I tuned a Kimball circa 1950, approx. 6' grand. Not a bad sounding piano if I do say so myself since I rebuilt it about 4 years ago. (Just a new pinblock and strings.) What I find most intriguing is the soundboard is plywood. I have seen laminate soundboards in all sorts of truly horrible spinets and consoles, but I don't ever remember one sounding so well. If my memory serves me correctly, Del mentioned laminate soundboards as a theoretically intriguing area some time ago in a Journal article. Also (if memory will serve me twice in one night) Mr. Birkett once said something to the effect that a soundboard could be made out of nearly any material if the maker knew what they were doing. I apologize to both gentleman in advance if I miss quoted or summarized anything they may or may not have said. The question still stands: what about the use of alternative materials in soundboards and what construction aspects may have allowed this Kimball to sound so much better than other similarly constructed pianos? Andrew Remillard
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