Yes, I meant replacing but converting the original design. So would you say that the danger in adding the fish to reduce the area of the SB in the treble would be extra stiffness but reduced mass? And what would constitute a light bridge? David Love davidlovepianos at comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 11:23 AM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: Soundboard mass > For those converting original pure compression boards to rib crowned and > supported boards, how important would it be to consider the overall mass of > the total rib scale of the original design versus that of the new design > versus, say, simply the deflection characteristics of the new rib scale. > Further, is there a way to numerically describe the desirable mass/stiffness > ratio? > > David Love Well, first, I'd say replacing compression crowned boards with new rib crowned and supported, rather than converting - etc. One of the redesigns I did, I knocked all the old ribs off of the panel and weighed them together. Before assembling the new board, I weighed the new rib set. In spite of having three more ribs than the original, and in spite of the extra weight of the Titebond used in laminating them, the new set was lighter. But then they were also shorter, narrower, and some were deeper (some shallower) than the original. What you're talking about is impedance, and the requirements of mass and stiffness differ with frequency. Build a thoroughly stiff treble into a board, and put as light a bridge as you can on it and listen to the result. You'll be reaching for mass loads immediately to "fix" it, where lightening a bass bridge won't produce a problem. Ron N
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