More on soundboard crown

[Richard Brekne]

Ron Nossaman wrote:

> >Its a
> >question of degrees... and as somebody (I wont get into who... grin)  pointed
> >out a couple years back in another soundboard discussion, with something about
> >a mosquito colliding with a Concord....  relative to what deflects what....
> >every little bit counts...
>
> An aircraft carrier, not the Concord, and if you want relativity, pay
> attention this time and I'll try again. These figures are approximate, and
> I'm not interested in all the details of what might happen on the molecular
> level. Just in case.

Ron, all due respect (and I do not mean that lightly or friviously) I paid
attention last time and carried on quite nicely enough thank you.

And while this time around, I dont have the spare time to recalculate and
re-perspectate your example data below, I have experienced often enough from you to
know your numbers games are more correct then not, but far from flawless.  Be that
as it may... the numbers of this particular round of parcheesee are not really
important in the given context. Only the phsyical fact that there is or is not
measureble difference in how crown survives under pressure with or without the
spider. Assuming there is some small measureable difference, and certainly not to
overstate its significance, the fact that said difference is very small  can not
detract from whether or not it exists and therefore has some small effect on the
whole.  You made very much that same kind of point with your aircraft carrier in a
removed thread a couple years back. Numbers are only one side of things. What we
can observe is the another. An what we conclude yet another again.  And none of
this goes to overstate, understate, or evaluate at all the overall significance of
the spiders effect.


>
> Arguably, and I know that if it is, you will, the "resonator" might just
> actually help to support the soundboard crown until enough strings are
> installed for the bearing  to overpower the compressibility of the wood,
> but it's all over long before it's chipped up to pitch.

This reasoning just doesnt add up. If the spider has some small supporting effect,
regardless of how small, AND if the panel is not just pushed flat by however much
combined compression there is on the edges of the soundboard assembly, then that
very small effect is still in effect.... crushed end fibers or not. As long as
crown exists, any eventual degree of support found will still be in effect. However
so small.

Tho I will aggree that most likely the net positive affect is probably quite
negligble... their claim of soundboard support remains valid as long as there is
even the slightest crown support provided. Quibbling perhaps... but just so. I dont
like simply overlooking such things so easily.... makes for mistakes like burying
strings into bridges with the quick use (or misuse) of a few numbers if you get my
meaning.

> Ron N

RicB


--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
UiB, Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html
http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html