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 For some reason, somehow, I missed these articles. As you say, it is a theory and in no way am I going to debate this theory. But so that I can be correct in what I have on my website, how would you describe what's going on. in layman's terms. Wim -----Original Message----- From: William Monroe <bill at a440piano.net> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Fri, Apr 2, 2010 3:18 am Subject: Re: [pianotech] Grey market pianos, seasoned pianos, etc. 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 On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 1:18 PM, <tnrwim at aol.com> wrote: Because the soundboard is restricted within the walls of the piano's case or rim, any taking on of moisture or expansion after installation will increase the curvature of the board, as the board has noplace else to go." Wow. I'm not sure I'd put much faith in anything this guy has to say. Actually, Terry, this is exactly what happens. That is why tuning go up in the moist summer months, and go south in the dry winter months. That's the way I explain it on my website. As far as the comment on the laminated soundboards, he's right about a lot of the pianos made today. Maybe not all the Yammy's, but a lot of the cheaper ones are laminated. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Thu, Apr 1, 2010 1:34 am Subject: Re: [pianotech] Grey market pianos, seasoned pianos, etc. "Hence, most manufacturers today tend to "overdry" or "overshrink" the board slightly, before installation, in order that the board will swell up again after installation, and hopefully maintain that curvature for a reasonable length of time (many years). Because the soundboard is restricted within the walls of the piano's case or rim, any taking on of moisture or expansion after installation will increase the curvature of the board, as the board has noplace else to go." Wow. I'm not sure I'd put much faith in anything this guy has to say. "In addition, much of the wood in a piano is laminated, so that layers of wood overlaid over others help restrict or restrain each other from much dimensional change in the areas that matter. Even a piano's soundboard and pinblock are laminated." Scratch that. I wouldn't put any faith in anything this guy has to say...... Whereas, IMHO, gray market Yamahas do just fine in Florida, this guy is biased because he is pushing grey market Yamahas - and doesn't seem to know diddley about piano construction. Terry Farrell On Mar 31, 2010, at 8:51 AM, Renee Ingeberg wrote: After seeing some discussion regarding this subject I send this helpful info to the list. http://www.pianofinders.com/techtalk/seasoning.htm Renee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100402/b8e27f21/attachment.htm>
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