Hi Ron Ain,t life interesting.All that O.C.D.(obsessive compulsive disorder.)ing and some rookie shoots your theorys out the window with a little casual info.As far as I know the material coming from north hud. has been western white for many years unless they were also periodicly supplying sitka.I have spoken with Dave Hughes often and I know this his supplier is n.h.and conversation with N. gravagne over the last couple years has also confirm same.Not to be despondent ,however if your results are pleasing this blip will just be food for thought.I must say that Daves pianos sound as good as any And our discussions have centered on the ribs being more of a primary consideration for tone production than the panels and he also uses the N.H. rib stock so I,m guessing its doing the job ,but it is a softer wood than sitka I do contend that the sound of sitka is subtley different .The sustain is great but hey so is the other stuff.As to your crate question Dittos on the heavy wood crates.Allen vincent shipped me some panels last year in a 2 by 4 rimmed crate with thin plywood sides and it was much lighterAnd reusable .I sent back 2 of six nort hud. panels last week what a nuisance.The B panel had a 50 degree grain angle as my A 3panel did .Keep an eye on the quartererness of these panels .The B had 4or5 pieces that were 45 degrees off the quarter ooops .In fairness the rest were nice but the individual pieces were all a little narrow i.e.2 an half or up to 3 inch .It is possible to get panels from soundswoods in Idaho if you not in a hurry I had some last year with peices aswide as 7 inches with 5 or 6 being common.Wonderful sounding stuff.they have a good supplier of raw sitka.I think I,ll inquire again as to availability.I can supply the no. if you wish. Best DaleErwin from Sunny calif. and 63 degrees
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC