hexagonal soundboard?????

[Jim]

Hi Gordon:

You're right. No big deal. The top of the soundboard has two
perimeter cuts. The pinblock is not as tall in the bass section
so the soundboard can be taller in the bass section only. The
illustration below is slightly exaggerated.


    x  x  x  x  x  x
                              x
    x                                     x
       Additional square inches above here           x.
    x                                                x

    x                                                x

    x                                                x
       Pentagonal shape was original
    x                                                x
       Adding another cut could make it hexagonal
    x.                                               x

    x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  xx

This patent design enabled Wurlitzer to claim more square inches
of soundboard area than any other spinet piano could claim.
Still no big deal. That part of the board really doesn't do much.
On grand pianos that relative portion of the board is usually
blocked off on good grands. We refer to that as "coffin corner."

Jim Coleman, Sr.



On Tue, 29 Apr 1997 PNOTNR@aol.com wrote:

> Hi list,
>
> I just tuned a Wurlitzer Spinet.  A label stuck on top of the back lists one
> of the features of this piano as, "Hexagonal Solid Spruce Soundboard".  Any
> ideas what this means?  (I can only think six sides....top, bottom, left,
> right, front and back)
>
> No big deal.  Just curious.
>
> Gordon Large, RPT
> Maine
>