>>It wouldn't work that way. an RC&S board would have a different design. >>It would have a scale and bridge placement designed for the occasion, >>different rib set and cutoff bars, bracing, and different hammers than >>the original. It's not just a matter of crowning the ribs. > >Why not? I thought compression crowning was the potential problem. If >there's a piano that I like the sound of, even if you think it's >inadequately designed, why wouldn't it sound just as good by substituting >a rib crowned board? > >Phil Ford Which problem? Too many things are still being lumped together here as the same concern. I read this as, if compression crowning produces potential structural problems (this being the problem associated with them), why won't a substituted rib crowned board sound just as good? Are you talking about sound, or structure? What I mean is that the old CC board designs evolved along with the rest of the piano. Aspects of each have been adapted to aspects of the other. Dropping a state of the art Steinway style diaphragmmed compression crowned board into a Yamaha without changing anything else won't tell you much about which crowning system produces the best sound, because they're considerably different beasts. Sure, crowning ribs identical to the original and doing everything else the same can produce a nice sounding piano, even a great sounding one. Quite possibly the best sounding piano you've ever heard. From John Hartman's description, I assume that's exactly what he's doing. But it isn't designed to be a RC&S board, and is still primarily panel supported, so it doesn't answer your question of whether a great sounding RC&S board can be made. ----------------- Ron, Thanks for you comments. I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by panel supported. Are you referring to bending resistance of the panel itself, or are you talking about shear interaction between the rib and panel, as in a compression crowned board? Or are you referring to something else altogether? Why would you categorize a panel that has not been severely dried, and to which crowned ribs are attached, as primarily panel supported? -------------------- There are currently two manufacturers contributing to this list who are in the process of beginning production of pianos with as close to pure RC&S soundboards as you'll find anywhere. I am very much looking forward to the results of both their efforts. The first couple of hundred production pianos should give us all ample statistical samplings to form an opinion - all of which will undoubtedly differ. Ron N --------------------- I look forward to that too (and to offering my opinion of course). Phil Ford
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