[pianotech] David Love--Centering the bridge--was S&S something er other

[Ron Nossaman]

On 5/23/2012 9:46 PM, mike.spalding1 at frontier.com wrote:

> I like Dale's perception of this question. Different configurations
> of bridge relative to centerline may have different tonal
> characteristics, but not necessarily better or worse. and other
> factors, such as soundboard thinning and rib end scallops, can skew
> it one way or the other.

Yes, there are way too many variables to start presuming the tonal 
nuances of centering bridges on ribs with no way to isolate the effect 
from all the myriad potential causes. From a design standpoint, I do it 
to what degree I can because that's the point of least compromised 
response, and I'd like to have some sort of standard as a starting place.

By the time you throw in scaling, panel thinning, panel compression 
levels, rib stiffness and loading, hammer choice and voicing, and the 
phase of the moon, it will sound how it sounds, and you just can't pick 
it apart minutely as specific cause and effect details by looking at the 
complex mix.
Ron N