<html> At 03:08 PM 11/8/2005 -0500, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Looks like a gem Ron. Hard maple beams, belly rail & rim - man, that's gotta be one heckuva solid foundation! One question though. A fish, or treble cut-off, may be used to reduce the area of soundboard in the treble area of an existing instrument. But if designing and building a piano from scratch, and knowing of the desired reduced-compared-to-traditional soundboard area in the treble, what reason would there be to build the rim to traditional dimensions and add a fish, rather than simply altering the shape of the rim during design & building to reflect the desired smaller treble soundboard area - and hence not needing a fish?  </blockquote> To accommodate the plate, I bet. New design or not. <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>The only reason I can think of is "because pianos are supposed to look like that." And I suppose a rim adjusted to reflect the smaller treble soundboard area would inspire too many questions?   Sorry. Overactive mind......   :-?   Terry Farrell</blockquote> Guy</html>