Mason bearing quandry

[A440A at aol.com]

Dale writes:

<<   SO what would you all do? Hmm  Leave it set up this  way or change it. 
The 
plate sits on bolts as it's  supports so  plate height is easy to change.
  Please weigh in & I'll tell you what I  think. >>

     I would take a moment to feel gratitude that such an excellent, and 
proven, sounding structure has come my way, and with a "pristine belly" I must be 
pardoned for a moment of giddiness at the thought.     
      What would I do?  I would set about making as little change to the 
pressures, entrainments, dimensions, etc.  as possible, while still installing new 
strings, felts, and maybe even a pinblock.  If that belly and downbearing are 
working so well, how likely is it that whatever improvment could be made 
would justify the major expense of a new board.  Aside from the possibility of 
making a lesser board,(it could happen),  a new board will take a year or two to 
settle into its longer term "sound".  This "pristine belly" is ready to go, 
right now.  Get the strings in on cleaned up bridges and you will know what you 
have, right now.  
     The definition of "character" is like one judge's definition of porn, "I 
can't define it, but I know it when I see it".  I think Dale was describing a 
particular tonal 'character' in this piano, and I say, "Save it!"  Put a 
great action and a nice set of hammers under fresh strings on it, and see what the 
piano has to say.

    Or, another way to say it, "Do we trust our minds, or do we trust our 
ears?"  So what if the numbers don't agree with expectations,  listening to the 
response of the piano will tell us all we need to know if we let it. 

Regards, 

Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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