<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">  <HTML> <BODY> <TABLE WIDTH="100%"> <TR> <TD VALIGN="TOP"> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"> Hi Del,   You are right that pianos are not violins. However, are you suggesting that the top and bottom "plates" (i.e. sound board) don't vibrate on a violin acting as a transducer--just like a piano sound board is a transducer?   I agree there are many differences--but it is not Oil and water as you seem to indicate.   There has been some research done on how violin plates vibrate in free air. So far as I know there have been none done on pianos. Surely both do vibrate, and both are wood. It would seem prudent to atleast look at the research for similarities.   I do agree whole heartedly that the sound production is *different*. A high tension piano vs a low tension fiddle. (about 80 lbs total tension on a fiddle btw).   --- Delwin D Fandrich <pianobuilders@olynet.com> wrote: >There are no similarities at all in how > their tone producing > mechanisms work. > > Second, piano soundboards should not resonate. > They do, of course, but it would be best if they did > not. And, while I don't > know anything about violin design I rather suspect > that violin soundboards > shouldn't resonate either. >   ===== Regards, Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T.   Tuner for the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts   mailto:drose@dlcwest.com <A HREF="http://donrose.xoasis.com/">http://donrose.xoasis.com/</A>   __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! <A HREF="http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/">http://personal.mail.ya= hoo.com/</A> </DIV> </TD> <TD WIDTH="133" VALIGN="TOP"> <CENTER> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.mailround.com/servlets/RedirectServlet?request=stampRedir&BrandId=991988805532&url=http://multi1.rmuk.co.uk/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.mailround.com/Send/27980/Top/Mailround.com/servista/servista_002.gif/64346131366430373362316239666130"> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="http://realmedia-a592.d4p.net/6/592/1130/0001/multi1.rmuk.co.uk:80/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/Mailround.com/servista/servista_002.gif"></A></CENTER> Stamp powered by <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.mailround.com/?s=mrb&c=cmrb&x=xmadeby&p=mrb-cmrb-xmadeby&BrandId=991988805532"> www.mailround.com </A> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.mailround.com/servlets/RedirectServlet?s=mry&c=cmry&x=xjoin&p=mry-cmry-xjoin&request=stampRedir&BrandId=991988805532&url=http://www.yoptin.net/MLR/UK.MLR.001.211M./">Click here</a> to join YOPTIN and WIN COOL PRIZES </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </BODY> </HTML>