<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1264" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Is the Bosy <EM>inner</EM> rim made of spruce?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>What is the "proper" term for the = wooden braces/beams/posts on pianos. I tend to use several terms because I = don't know which is "right", or most widely accepted in the industry.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Why are ?most? braces/beams/posts made = of spruce? I trust a hardwood would work just as well, if not better? Is it just = because the better, more clear, spruce is used in the soundboard and the = manufacturer always has some "inferior" spruce left over, and a natural place for that = rejected soundboard wood to go is into the braces/beams/posts?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> All woods are naturally resonant. = What sets spruce apart from most other<BR>> woods, either hard or soft, is its particularly high stiffness-to-weight<BR>> ratio. The one thing you = don't want in a rim (or a soundboard either, for<BR>> that) is resonance. = In either place resonances are voicing problems. The rim<BR>> is generally = braced well enough to either prevent, or at least dampen, most<BR>> spurious = resonances. I don't happen to think spruce makes a particularly<BR>> good rim and = rim don't make particularly efficient soundboards.<BR>> Bosendorfer's = work moderately well because they are huge, they are well<BR>> braced and = they have relatively stiff and massive soundboards. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> <BR>> = Del<BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>