Orthotropic Soundboard (was Laminated Soundboard Ribs)

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phillip L Ford" <fordpiano@lycos.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: February 13, 2002 5:34 PM
Subject: Orthotropic Soundboard (was Laminated Soundboard Ribs)


>
> Another aspect of this is that some people seem to feel that there is
something
> magical about the board having orthotropic properties and that wood is the
> choice for musical instrument boards partly because it is orthotropic.
I'm
> unconvinced about this.  I think a soundboard needs to have high stiffness
to
> density and some level of internal damping.  When pianos were developed
the
> only material available with these properties was wood (softwood).  Now it
just
> so happens that this material is orthotropic.  Some people have concluded
that
> this means that the soundboard needs to be orthotropic.  Perhaps they're
right
> but I'm unconvinced.  I've seen pianos with laminated boards (which I've
taken
> to be essentially isotropic) that seem to serve the same function (whether
they
> do it as well as an orthotropic board is still an open question).  Ron
Overs's piano
> which he displayed in Reno is an example.  I don't know enough about the
way
> the board is constructed to know if it is truly isotropic.  Perhaps Ron
can comment
> on that.

There is no rule that requires that a laminated soundboard panel be
isotropic. The designer of the laminated soundboard panel has even more
options. It can be whatever the designer wants it to be. I remain convinced
that ultimately the best sounding pianos will use laminated soundboards that
may or may not be made out of wood or wood products.

Del