Soundboard Edges

[Farrell]

While driving to Mt. Tabot Missionary Baptist Church this morning I had to turn off the radio and try and come to grips with the edges of a new soundboard. Let's say you make a 60-foot rib-radiused board (60-foot - the radius, not size of the board). OK, so now you have this little dome with a height of maybe 3/8" or so in the middle. (Or maybe you make one with smaller radii, so you have more crown - whatever.) The top edges of the piano rim and belly rail are at the same elevation - in the same plane. If you cut your soundboard into a circle, the edges would also be in the same plane. But when you go and cut the two sides straight and the other sides with the funky piano curves, you end up with edges not nearly in the same plane (the edges will be above the average plane in the middle of the two straight sides and way above in the big bend area. So what gives? The soundboard I guess. I wonder how much stress and distortion the soundboard is subject to by forcing the edges into the same plane. Would arching the belly rail a tad, and the rim in the necessary places be of benefit? Would this relieve some undesirable tension and suddenly let the piano breathe and bloom with beautiful sounds? Or is it that the 1/8" or 1/4" or whatever we are talking about here just doesn't matter at all?

Now either you will say that I am crazy and all this is meaningless (which may well be the case), or......."well give it a try Terry, and let us know!"

But what do you think..........?

Terry Farrell