<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 11/13/2007 9:50:57 PM Pacific Standard Time, davidlovepianos@comcast.net writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Did you do the experiment blind? i.e. did the listeners (and player) know when the tape was on or off?  You need to do that to really legitimize the results.  </SPAN></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">David,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">It was at the end of the meeting, so it was somewhat ad hoc. However, I suggested the exercise because of my own experiments in this area, and because I didn't agree with recent talk about the duplexes not being worth much. The first piano on which I had practical use for it was a Steinway D some years ago that had been braided all the way up the tenor at the factory. There was something unsatisfactory about the tone, and I was poking around, and noticed the braiding. I pulled it out and was surprised at the improvement.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Back to our meeting - We found that the difference with/without the tape in the tenor was so obvious that I have no doubt what the results would be not looking. The differences in the other sections were more subtle, and I too would like to repeat them with more controls. Our sense was that the tone just sounded freer, bigger, and more interesting with the duplexes open, even the upper ones, but I'd be happy to try it again when we have more time.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">It brought up the question of whether the duplexes were compensating for poor soundboard design. This would be a hard one to control for, but my off-the-cuff feeling was that a more efficient soundboard would just make the effect more obvious. Piano tone relies on the interaction of so many things that it's hard to change just one, and be satisfied that we have enough information to draw useful conclusions. Other variables in the duplex experiment might be the distance from the piano at which the sound change was noticeable, and the effect of hammer voicing, and the phase of the moon, and....</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Bob Davis</FONT></DIV><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's new at <A title="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" href="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" target="_blank">AOL.com</A> and <A title="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" href="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" target="_blank">Make AOL Your Homepage</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>