<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Thanks, Ron. That's very helpful. The cumulative loss of compression would be due to repeated cycling of high to low humidity, yes? Resulting in crushed wood fiber structure?<DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>I'll start examining pianos with a little more care and attention. Partly it's a question of knowing precisely what to be looking at and listening for. And having the tools to measure. </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>BTW, I recently constructed a home made version of the Lowell gauge (when I finally decided to spring for one a few years ago, it had become unavailable). I'll post pictures for those interested.<BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Regards,</DIV><DIV>Fred Sturm</DIV><DIV>University of New Mexico</DIV><DIV><A href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Apr 3, 2006, at 11:58 AM, Ron Nossaman wrote:</DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> Is it a matter of "stiffness" (which can mean DB, spongy wood, lack of firm support from rim, a few scenarios)?</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Stiffness. Cumulative loss of compression in the panel letting the assembly become too flexible. Sometimes, adding mass can compensate to some degree (up to a point), but the lack of stiffness that caused the problem the weight lessened, is still there.</DIV><snip><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">How many nasty sounding killer octaves have you found that had both positive crown and positive bearing at the point in the scale where the problem is? For that matter, how many times have you checked KO bearing and crown when you hear the attack distortion there, looking for some relationship between the three?</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><BR></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Ron N</FONT></P> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>