Too Much Downbearing

[Jonathan Finger]

Hello all,
Long time no see.  I've been off of the list now for quite awhile and 
seem to have more questions than ever.
I'm curious to see what the general opinion is of you all - the greatest 
minds in piano technology (am I laying it on too thick?).

Working on a Steinway D right now, and we're trying to get a good "plan" 
for how to address the different issues we're going to make better. 
Specifically right now, I'm curious about downbearing, and what people 
think some of the signs and symptoms would be of too much of it.
In the bass we are measuring more downbearing than we'd like, and on a 
compression-crowned board such as this, I'm wondering if there's simply 
too much load in that area of the soundboard to allow it to operate the 
way it would naturally like to.
I'm purposefully not giving out specific numbers right now, because I'm 
trying to get a better understanding of the system as a whole.

What would signs and symptoms of too much downbearing look like 
structurally?  Am I right in assuming it will affect the diaphragmatic 
ability of the soundboard?  Will it damage the wood by overloading it?

What would too much downbearing sound like?  What qualities would you 
hear (or not hear) in the sound envelope that would indicate to you that 
a piano had too much downbearing?

We will be re-stringing the piano, and will therefore have everything 
apart to alter downbearing should we need to.  I'd like to better 
understand the principles behind this though.  Sometimes my brain gets 
all twisted up in the science.
I really respect the opinions and ideas of many of the members here, so 
there's really no better place for me to put this out, and "update" my 
knowledge base with the latest thinking.

-- 
Jonathan Finger RPT