The Soundboard bit.. RC&S

[RicB]

Terry. We are talking about a major German piano manufacturer whose 
efforts and financial expenditures into this matter extended over quite 
a bit more then a single <<shot in the dark>> as it were.  I really 
rather think they tried many many combinations of things, as such places 
usually do.  And after these several years of experimentation they 
couldnt get the sound they were after... they went back. Yamaha as also 
spend enormous amounts trying every conceivable thing before arriving at 
their own CC variant.  Curved ribs or not its a CC board by and large. 
Petrof believes that a tapering in the middle of the flitches before 
glueing together the panel is imperative to creating the right kinds of 
insternal stresses for their panels. And they have some measure of 
scientific data to support their theory.

These people are not just blokes with a shop back in some inexpensive 
worn down industry district struggling to make ends meet from piano to 
piano.  Nor are they ignorant as to how to go about experimentation into 
such matters.

The fact remains they went into a long period of experimentation with RC 
& S boards and dropped it because they didnt like the sound they were 
getting.  And hey !!! What does that prove except that there IS actaully 
a discernble difference in resultant sounds for different constructions 
(as if that should really be a suprise) and that these particular folks 
had tastes that went in the direction of a CC board. ? Whats so 
problematic about that ?

Cheers
RicB


    SNIP
     > I can't
     > comment on the Schimmel experiment because there are many
    variables to
     > consider and who knows what they did exactly.
     >
     > David Love

    That's exactly correct David. Was the only thing changed rib
    crowning and
    panel drying? What about rib dimensions? How about panel thickness
    and grain
    angle? How about rib array? Rib tapering? Many factors that we don't
    know
    may have contributed to a someone not liking the result of any
    particular
    piano.