interesting wood article

[Farrell]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
At the risk of  asking a question that has been asked a zillion times =
before......

Is there perhaps a fundamental difference in the way a piano soundboard =
vibrates compared to whatever on a violin vibrates from string movement =
to produce their respective sounds? Is the piano soundboard moving more =
like a speaker cone (I realize most soundboards are pretty far from that =
ideal) compared to the vibrating front of the violin? I ask that because =
if piano soundboard movement is closer to the speaker cone, we are =
strictly looking at a vibrating diaphragm, and the ability of the =
soundboard material to "transmit sound" is a mute point (pun intended). =
To the best of my knowledge, speaker cones do not "transmit sound", but =
rather move as a single unit at whatever frequency(s) is required to =
produce intended sound - paper cones work well, but carbon-fiber or a =
number of other exotic materials with greater stiffness-to-weight ratios =
than paper work better - but not because the exotic cone material =
"transmits sound" any better, but rather because the material moves more =
efficiently as it is driven by the speaker voice coil - or in the case =
of the piano, the string.

So my question is - is the speaker cone analogy more closely related to =
the case with the piano soundboard and less so with the violin? No =
relationship?=20

Again, if fear this has been asked before - and if I've read info on it, =
I guess that means I just haven't thoroughly understood it.

And here's a question that may not have been asked before (and maybe for =
good reason): "As wood gets older,.....and displays lower EMC levels." =
Does it? Or does it simply become slightly less dense from losing =
volatile components, and then simply carries less water in it at the =
same EMC?

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message -----=20
From: "Richard Brekne" <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 3:22 AM
Subject: Re: interesting wood article


>=20
> Another interesting point seems to be that aged wood having possible =
positive
> benifits in music instrument making perhaps is not so unreasonable a =
proposition
> after all.  As wood gets older, according to proponents of this =
school, it
> becomes stiffer, lighter, looses some of its hygrophility (ie becomes
> significantly more stable in the face of changes in humidity), and =
displays
> lower EMC levels. One of the down sides is that it becomes more =
brittle.
> Evidently the velocity of sound through wood increases with these =
changes... ie
> aged wood will conduct sound at greater speeds then new wood.  These =
seem to be
> the same kinds of characteristic changes embraced by a few companies =
around the
> world using new technology thermo treated wood in music instruments. =
They are
> able to register increased sustain qualities in instruments when =
compared to
> controll instruments made of untreated woods... or so they say.
>=20
> Who knows... :)
>=20
> Cheers
> RicB
> --
> Richard Brekne
> RPT, N.P.T.F.
> UiB, Bergen, Norway
> mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
> http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html
> http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html
>=20
>=20
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
> 
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/5b/e0/e5/50/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--