<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: Piano Rims (rambling post)</title></head><body> <div>Phil Ford wrote;</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite>Another comment about this.  I find it interesting<br> that violins and guitars use very thin rims. <br> Comparing a violin to a piano may be suspect because<br> the violin is constantly having energy poured into<br> it by the player whereas a piano gets one initial<br> burst of energy which then is going to dissipate in<br> some way and we have to be concerned about how.  But<br> a guitar also gets an initial burst of energy and<br> then no more, as in a piano.  You would think that<br> guitar builders would be more concerned about energy<br> dissipation than piano builders, but guitars have<br> not evolved to have heavy rims (relatively speaking).</blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite>Maybe they know something we don't.</blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>Since you mention guitars, there are a couple of interesting local luthiers who are gaining the attention of the guitar world. Greg Smallman is making guitars with a cutoff across the 'waist line' of the belly - the lower section only is active belly. The following description is taken from Guitar Salon International's website;</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote>The Australian luthier Greg Smallman has been responsible for a minor revolution in guitar design bringing some subtle but important changes to the classical instrument that have had a more profound effect than those contributed by any other modern maker.</blockquote> <blockquote><br></blockquote> <blockquote>Central to Greg Smallman's design philosophy is the use of an ultra-thin wooden top that is intended to project more efficiently the sound of the strings. To this end he has abandoned the traditional strutting under the guitar's top, and in its place uses a flexible criss-cross "lattice" strutting made from balsa wood reinforced with carbon fiber. Smallman ascribes some of his engineering inspiration to a boyhood passion for building and flying model aircraft, where a wafer-thin skin would be fixed to a supporting skeleton.</blockquote> <blockquote><br></blockquote> <blockquote>The backs and sides of the Smallman guitar are unusually heavy and are pressed from laminated rosewood<font color="#0000FF"> [this particular Rosewood is an Australian rain-forest species with similar density and strength to Hard Maple]</font> reduce the amount of energy that might otherwise be absorbed from the top, yet again enhancing the guitar's projection.</blockquote> <blockquote><br></blockquote> <blockquote>Bernard Richardson, an expert in guitar acoustics who lectures at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Wales Cardiff, explains elsewhere in his book how Smallman's designs increase the all-important stiffness-to-mass ratio of the soundboard but keep the vibrating mass low, which permits an increase in sound radiation. "Whether it is intentional or not, Smallman employs very sensible engineering and acoustical principles to add stiffness but reduce mass, which is exactly which is required," says Richardson.</blockquote> <blockquote><br></blockquote> <div>For the full article, go to;</div> <div><br></div> <div>http://www.guitarsalon.com/learningcenter/bios/smallman.shtml</div > <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div>Another interesting and committed Sydney luthier is Gerard Gilet. Gerard makes an acoustic guitar of his own design with a substantial bent rim supporting the belly. Sting purchased a Gilet guitar during a recent visit to Sydney. These are serious instruments worthy of further investigation. Gerard's website can be found at;</div> <div><br></div> <div>http://www.giletguitars.com.au/</div> <div><br></div> <div>Happy new year to all,</div> <div><br></div> <div>Ron O</div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div>-- <br> Overs Pianos<br> Sydney Australia<br> ________________________<br> <br> Web site: http://www.overspianos.com.au<br> Email:     mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au<br> ________________________</div> </body> </html>