The finite life of wood grain

[Ed Sutton]

David-

I would suggest that images of alive or dead soundboards are good for poetry 
or sales pitches, but otherwise won't lead to any real understanding.

All soundboards are dead. Hopefully the wood is well-seasoned. You don't 
want branches growing out of a piano, and by the way, wood doesn't eat, you 
don't need to "feed" it with lemon oil.

The question that needs answering is "Is this piano (soundboard included) 
doing what the owner wants it to do in this situation? If not, why not?" 
Answering this question involves considerable knowledge of piano design, 
history, acoustics, and performance. It may take some studying to figure out 
the best course in a given situation.

There is no formula "X years old, soundboard is dead." There are 19th 
century instruments that are playing very well, and there are instruments 
that arrive new from the factory with serious deficits in soundboard 
performance.

Ed Sutton


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David B. Stang" <stangdave at columbus.rr.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2008 1:48 PM
Subject: The finite life of wood grain


> This is a curious question directed toward Dale Erwin and other
> soundboard people.
>
> Would it be fair to say that the majority of soundboards die
> after, say, 80 to 100 years?  If that's true, then what's the
> major reason? Is it climate, or the simple fact that the board
> has been under pressure, or both of the the above?
> Also, this "death" is at the cellular / granular level, right?
> So then "re-crowning" would be about as useful as putting new
> chrome on a car with a destroyed chassis, eh?
>
> (Sorry if this is a dead horse already thoroughly beaten.)
>
> Thanks, and thank you again, Dale, for a great talk in Chicago.
> David
>
> David B. Stang
> Columbus Ohio
>
>
>
>
>