> I have heard that agraffe bridge systems like the Stuart is designed to > be used at "zero bearing" ( I believe that Stuart claims to be such, if > I am not mistaken). But I have never understood why, if all else about > a soundboard assembly is equal in design and construction, that this > would be the case. It seems to me like they would have more or less the > same requirements of bearing and crown to drive the board. > > Will Truitt Nothing else about the soundboard assembly is equal in design and construction, that's why the confusion. The Stuart soundboards bear no resemblance to "conventional" boards. In the one I crawled under, the "ribs" were a cross lattice like a Japanese room divider, not sized to be load bearing or particularly stiff, and not crowned. String bearing was average zero throughout. The only thing I could see that allowed it to work at all was the cumulative mass of the bridge agraffes. Ron N
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC