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<p>Delwin D Fandrich wrote:
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<div style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----</div>
<div
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><b>From:</b>
<a href="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no" title="rbrekne@broadpark.no">Richard
Brekne</a></div>
<div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title="pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a></div>
<div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>Sent:</b> June 08, 2001 12:18 PM</div>
<div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>Subject:</b> Re: soundboards improving
with age? or what else?</div>
<p>Bucur, I might add cites the following factors relative to changes
in wood as it ages
<p>Chemical and physical changes over time with fluctuations of temperature
and humidity and effects due to the playing process, mainly the results
of vibrations and static loading.
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<div dir="ltr"><font color="#800080"><font size=-1>Sigh. I'm certainly
glad to know that your expert agrees that changes take place in wood as
the result of fluctuations of temperature and humidity and static loading.
While I don't accept the notion that there are chemical changes taking
place as a result of simple aging that will affect the performance of the
piano--been talked about lots, never proven--there are certainly physical
and structural changes resulting from static loading and from those variations
in temperature and humidity that do.</font></font></div>
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<div dir="ltr">Grin... I know you dont aggree Del... and hey.. thats cool.
Its one thing to suppose this, to observe that.. to hypothosize, reason,
conport, and constertate.. to agree or disagree... its another thing
entirely to declare "I have the answer"</div>
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<p dir="ltr">Actually the fellow goes on to say the chemical changes are
quite measureable, and the results predictable. Its all very sensible I
am sure. But as I said... no one has any final proved out complete description
of the piano soundboard in this regard. And to say one does is...well overstepping
the present real knowledge base.
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<div dir="ltr"><font color="#800080"><font size=-1>You're on the right
track. Don't stop now!</font></font></div>
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<div dir="ltr"></div>
<div dir="ltr">Grin.. Del I have had a lot of such reading lying
around for some years now.. some read some left to read some to re.read.
The right track is a questioning one, in my mind. It is wise not to close
oneself completely off from avenues of investigation... no matter how seemingly
unlikely they may be..until there is real proof that they are useless.</div>
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<div dir="ltr"><font color="#800080"><font size=-1>Regards,</font></font></div>
<p dir="ltr"><font color="#800080"><font size=-1>Del</font></font></blockquote>
and then....
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<br>Perhaps the answer to your question is simply.... "because you <i>want</i>
it to sound better" Perhaps its something more tangeable. Maybe there
is some aura left from the living tree...grin... or perhaps Del and his
camp are right... in which case there is something wrong with your ears...
hehe.
<p>All I know... is what I said at the outset... we dont have the answer
to that question yet. Tho undoubtably there are those who are convinced
we do... all over the place.</blockquote>
<div dir="ltr"><font color="#800080">Now why would you say this, Richard?
This is precisely what I have been saying happens right along. The effect
Andre is referring to is predictable, understandable, and explainable.</font></div>
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<p><br>Grin... Del you shoulda been a politician. As you have answered
your own question in nearly the same breath that you posed it... I will
say no more.
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<div dir="ltr"><font color="#800080">Regards,</font></div>
<p dir="ltr"><font color="#800080">Del</font></blockquote>
<p><br>and finnally:
<p><font color="#CC33CC">Of course Andre is hearing what he is hearing.
And he is hearing it accurately. Steinway soundboards are compression-crowned
boards. Over time, with the soundboard loaded, thesoundboard panel is undergoing
fairly continuous changes. It is under compression across-grain, remember?
The wood fibers are taking on compression-set and the expansion force that
formed and maintained the boards initial crown is dissipating. The board
is collapsing. In the process it is losing some of its stiffness. As
this happens the piano's sustain time is</font>
<br><font color="#CC33CC">decreasing and the tone quality is becoming more
percussive. That is what happens as a soundboard loses its crown.</font><font color="#CC33CC"></font>
<p><font color="#CC33CC">Regards,</font><font color="#CC33CC"></font>
<p><font color="#CC33CC">Del</font>
<p>Lets see first you tell him the old panel will sound as good as the
new... then you tell him it wont after all...Lets. see.... sort this out..
Oh yea.. there was this difference between rib crowned and compression
crowned... but WAIT... the old board was compression crowned wayyyy back
when... it shoulda then suffered badly by compression set due to these
expansion forces collapsing..... how can that sound the same as a new board
that hasnt been subjected to this... even with rib supports... but then
we got that covered too dont we ?? Its all a matter of stiffness
and mass... and nothing else. And the only thing that affects these is
static load stresses... Heck if we could reconfigure a tomatoe to be as
stiff..... grin...
<p>Look Del... your explanation is as good as anyones...and better then
most in my book. Just dont try selling it as the gospel cause it is obvious
that you havent got all ends completely covered. It remains a hypothosis.
<br>
<p>And now I think we have dragged this one around enough for the
present... or what ?
<p>--
<br>Richard Brekne
<br>RPT, N.P.T.F.
<br>Bergen, Norway
<br><A HREF="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A>
<br>
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