[pianotech] Grey market pianos, seasoned pianos, etc.

[Ron Nossaman]

William Monroe wrote:
> Hi Wim,
> 
> This may be the way we've been explaining it for eons, but this theory 
> is certainly in question.  Read Ron N.'s article in the April 2006 
> Journal which speaks directly to this.  More, I believe it was Ric 
> Brekne who wrote an article some time back which addressed the concept 
> of pitch change due to soundboard crown increasing.  When he isolated 
> the one variable of rise and fall of the soundboard, it was pretty 
> quickly apparent that the amount of soundboard rise required to affect a 
> significant pitch change was absurdly large.  The math just doesn't 
> support the theory that soundboard rise and fall is responsible for 
> major pitch changes.  It is involved to be sure, but is likely not even 
> the major factor.  Lot's to chew on, and I apologize in advance if I've 
> referenced the wrong author.
> 
> William R. Monroe

The first mention of soundboard rise and fall not accounting 
for observed pitch changes I recall was in a Journal article 
by Darrell Fandrich in the July 1996 issue. It was probably 
observed many years and many times prior to that, and widely 
ignored.
Ron N