[pianotech] GH-1s

[David Love]

There's been plenty of bashing of trichords,  Read your own posts again.  

I acknowledged your claim that with the permission to redesign you could
probably get around the need for trichords.  What more do you want, an
award? I still think there are situations in which trichord wrapped strings
will sound better, meaning offer better transition, than bichords.  We don't
agree on that apparently.  That's ok with me.

No, I've not heard your pianos but I wasn't commenting on "your" pianos.  I
have heard reviews of your B and others though if you want to know.  I'm not
just shooting in the dark however.  I have heard and done enough pianos that
follow many of your design ideas, which include the choice not to thin the
panel in conjunction with soundboard shaping, that I have a first hand
opinion about it.  My opinion is that severe soundboard shaping, meaning
reduction of soundboard area, combined with a lack of panel thinning, tight
rib radii, and added ribs can restrict soundboard mobility and impact the
tone in a way that some may not like.  While it produces a very controlled
and tight sound that some may prefer, for some it will be over controlled
and too tight especially at the forte end.  Some, including you, have called
it power without noise, I call it restricted power and I would simply advise
caution in this area for those pursuing these design directions.  I'm sorry
if this doesn't agree with your opinion but that's life in the piano design
world.  Get over it.

I'll wait for the biting repartee.  Thanks for listening.  



David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com


I certainly haven't read any "bashing" of trichords. I've read what I
consider to be reasonable and rational descriptions of their very real
drawbacks and nothing supporting their desirability except one instance
where it was thought that trichords sounded better. Failure to support a
questionable feature isn't in my estimation "bashing" the alternative that
has proved in repeated instances to be viable without the observed drawbacks
of trichords.


> Ron mentioned that as long as he had permission to redesign that he 
> could avoid trichords.  I'm sure he's right, as long as he has 
> permission to redesign he can probably set the speaking lengths to 
> whatever is required to accommodate all bichord wrapped strings.  But 
> with very short pianos you often don't have good options.And if you 
> don't have permission to redesign and must work with what's there then 
> there is, in my view, a place for trichord wrapped strings on certain
pianos under certain circumstances.

In ANY piano of ANY length, absence of permission to redesign means you have
no choice. And I still haven't yet found an instance of trichords in ANY
length piano that, given permission to redesign, I couldn't address with
bichords. If there is a clear justification for trichords that doesn't
consist of the potential hazard of making a bad bichord, I have neither read
it, nor come across it in the shop.


>In
> your particular project (and I don't really know the details of it), I 
>would  not rule it out, though someone with more knowledge than I have 
>in this area  would have to look at it and make that determination.  
>With respect to the  low bass, Ron's suggestions are all good though he 
>and I disagree on  thinning the panel around the perimeter.  I think 
>it's a great benefit and  something I wouldn't leave out under any
circumstances that I can think of.
> I think unthinned panels, especially those that employ soundboard cut 
>off  bars, are too tonally restricted.  With a rib scale and radius 
>that removes  the need for compression crowning or panel support of 
>crown, thinning the  panel is only a benefit in terms of soundboard 
>mobility, a more open sound  and pushing out the upper end of the 
>dynamic range.  You need it to get a  good fortissimo.  At least that's how
I hear it.

When have you heard one of my pianos - EVER? A lot of techs listened to my B
at Rochester, but I don't recall "tonally restricted" being one of the
resulting descriptions.
Ron N