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<DIV> <FONT size=3> Vladan</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> In my Opinion & under the scenario you
proposed ie. same crown. I'd suggest if the board thickness =
are
the same & the bearing setup zaactly the same way ie. if the=
Same moisture content was present on the day the ribs were glued on
& on the day the bridge heights were cut for bearing & als=
o
the MC was the same in each at that time ,there would be little tonal
difference. The problem is factory compression crowned board &=
the
inherent inconsistencies that are & were allowed to exisit in the factor=
ie
invironment create a wide variety of anomallys. There are no agreed on
thicknesses for boards in old Stwys ,as I've witnessed from model to model, =
but
just a parameter. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> A too thick board even with appropriate amounts of=
crown
& bearing will cause a stingy sound as quick as any thing I know. But I
usually do not find this condition in older stwys.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> In the case you present it's always many th=
ings
that contribute to tonal constipation or freedom.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> Also different species of spruce used in mo=
dels
50 yrs apart contribute to some of the difference. Ie Sitka boards used in m=
ore
stwy models in the 1970s & the overall skill of the bellyman. It's many
things.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> <STRONG> I have used the hacklinger gauge & it=
is
expensive & accurate</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> Dale</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><=
FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=
=2>Let's
say you are interested in piano design and you<BR>come across a couple of
Steinways, same model, built<BR>50 years apart. One sounds great, th=
e
other one<BR>doesn't. They look similar enough. The scale is
the<BR>same. Both have the same amount of crown, the ribs<BR>look
similar, even the grain is similar looking. One<BR>could simply say:=
"The wood is different, they don't<BR>make them out of that good old wood =
any
more."<BR><BR><U>On the other hand, what if the acoustic difference is<BR>=
due
to soundboard profile changes (intended or not)? <BR>Maybe they have chang=
ed
the thickness profile in the<BR>intervening years and that is the primary
cause of the<BR>tonal difference. You would not know this unless
you<BR>measured. One can save a lot of time by comparing<BR>things t=
hat
others have already taken time to build.</U></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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