Rear Duplex Bars on Steinways:

[A440A@aol.com]

David writes:

> such things as the addition of cutoff bars, belly bracing, modifying the
>bass bridge cantilever to increase backscale length, detuning the front
>duplexes, rescaling, squaring the bridge notching in the low tenor and bass 
sections, crowing the
>ribs,  ; All of these "redesigns", will improve the overall
>performance of the piano and I don't consider it in any way a desecration
>of the original, just an improvement.

Greetings, 
       Hmm,  maybe I should wait until you define "desecration".   This list 
of "things to do" is more than refining makers' oversights, it is 
re-engineering the sounding structure.   How far can a Steinway get its sound 
improved without sounding like something other than a Steinway?   I would 
question, are we simply continuing on  the developmental trajectory that the 
originators of Steinways had in mind, or are we attempting to invent our own 
sound by using a Steinway as our bass,  (treble ahead?).   
    
Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html