soundboard

[Ron Nossaman]

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>What are the reasons old vertical pianos don't hold their tune so well 
>anymore?

In my experience, they typically hold what tuning they're capable of 
receiving much better through much wider humidity swings than newer pianos.


>I figure it's mostly because the soundboard shrinks and grows a lot more 
>as it gets older.

Actually, less. The panel is pretty much crushed by now, and doesn't react 
nearly as much, at nearly the pressure levels, as new wood. Weird tuning 
stability things do sometimes happen when soundboards collapse into strange 
"S" curve crowns, but this is structural failure.


>The tuning block is also a consideration but is secondary to the problem 
>in most cases.  True?
>
>Kurt

It depends. If  the pins are tight enough to hold in the lowest humidity 
swings, it's probably not the pinblock that's the problem - unless it's 
pulled away from the back. Even then, it's the structural failure that's at 
fault rather than the block.

As always, "doesn't hold it's tune" isn't a nearly specific enough 
description to diagnose the reason it doesn't hold it's tune.

Ron N

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