Good golly Del - this from a man of such experience!
"I do not understand the unrealistic demands most manufacturers and technicians place on the flawless color, grain uniformity and defect free characteristics of the wood used to make soundboard panels.
We're told that these specifications somehow translate into "better" tone but solid reasons are missing."
Solid reasoning is not applicable where magic and growth of a musical soul occurs! That's also why you should never replace a soundboard - you'll be tearing the "soul" out of the piano.
Tsk, tsk. ;-)
Hey, you should see some of the little nasties that get hidden behind the long bridge under the plate on some of my panels. I like to think of them as beauty marks. I'm sure that if one NY piano manufacturer was doing the same they would be part of each piano's unique character - no two pianos are the same.......
Terry Farrell
----- Original Message -----
Yes, I have. I have also seen a grand (the name of which I can't recall) that used a modified form of tongue & groove butt joint and another that used finger jointed butt joints. All within the vibrating portion of the panel and all working well.
This subject is one I've been interested in for some time. I do not understand the unrealistic demands most manufacturers and technicians place on the flawless color, grain uniformity and defect free characteristics of the wood used to make soundboard panels.
We're told that these specifications somehow translate into "better" tone but solid reasons are missing. I've had more than one manufacturers rep tell me that the color of soundboard wood affects the color of tone! I'm not entirely sure but I think they actually believed this. We're told "tight" grain wood should be used in the "treble." Presumably because tight grain wood is both stiffer and heavier and this could be perceived as a benefit in the high treble. But follow that tight grain board down and you'll see it runs right under--or at least very close to--the bass bridge where it is not at all advantageous.
OK, I can understand why wood of uniform grain might be required for soundboards that are crowned by pure compression. But for good and obvious reasons this applies to fewer and fewer piano makers (and rebuilder, for that) these days.
For all the rest the soundboard panel is simply a reasonably light-weight diaphragm supported and tied together by a rib system and a couple of bridges. Yes, a certain amount of longitudinal stiffness is required but pretty much all spruce of whatever variety and grade has enough longitudinal stiffness to suffice.
As others have noted, soundboards having historically unacceptable color variations, erratic grain, pitch flaws and minor knots are the wave--so to speak--of the future. As we continue to chop away at the remaining stocks of high-grade spruce trees with little of no thought of sustainably replacing them we're going to find the cost and availability of wood with the characteristics we've been demanding growing increasingly scarce and dear. We might as well start getting used to using what's left.
ddf
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From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Mark Dierauf
Sent: March 11, 2009 6:23 AM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Re: [pianotech] NW Woods #2 soundboard panel
Also the wave of the past. Have you never seen an old Blake upright with ship-lap jointed soundboard panels? I suspect that they used to raid their competitor's scrap piles for the material for their own boards!
Mark
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