Piano Design Question

Farrell mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
Thu, 14 Jul 2005 18:34:55 -0400


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To those who delve into piano design (and loose sleep over such =
things)......

My understanding is that the bass/tenor area of the typical modern grand =
piano soundboard poses a challenge from the design standpoint because in =
pretty much the same location you want a very flexible soundboard for =
the bass and a stiffer soundboard for the lower tenor. This necessitates =
compromise.

Yes - is that true?

Wouldn't a straight-strung arrangement work better? Seems to me that =
designing a piano with performance being the #1 criteria, a straight =
strung (or parallel or whatever - you know what I mean) arrangement =
would offer the designer the luxury of designing the soundboard to meet =
the needs of the various sections of the string scale - and not having =
to make the same area suit two different needs.=20

Now keep in mind that I ask this question strictly from the performance =
(musical) standpoint and not the standpoint of how well a design might =
sell. I believe it is the case that one can design a piano with longer =
bass strings for a given piano length with an overstrung design - if the =
marketing department is put in charge of piano design. I'm talking about =
eliminating the marketing department and the accounting department and =
just dealing with how to build the most acoustically pleasing piano. (I =
know, silly idea.) Now rememeber - no marketing - we can make the case =
ANY shape we want (we don't have to have a flat side on the bass side)!

Without having to concern yourself with factory sales, would you rather =
design a straight-strung or overstrung piano? Which approach give the =
designer more freedom to design an optimal piano?

Thanks. Tomorrow in the shop will pivot on this.....    ;-)

FWIW: Seems to me that straight-strung offers significant design =
benefits because each area of the string scale occupies a unique area of =
the soundboard - and hence that area of the soundboard can be designed =
to optimize the performance of that area of the string scale.

Terry Farrell
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