Most soundboards I cut into are very light colored. The soundboard in the 1890 Estey grand (subject of my last post) is very dark (surface and throughout), kinda like a golden brown, much like maybe cherry heartwood. I took a class from someone (???who was it???) in KC about evaluating old soundboards. One thing he said was that if the soundboard is dark, it is shot. Does anyone know anything about such criteria? Anyone with experience one way or another? Please educate me. The wood otherwise seems lovely. I just figured it was beautiful spruce heartwood from huge spruce trees that are no longer available. Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
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