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Dear Unknown Bob,
<P>I don't know much about the capability of either the SAT or the RCT
when it comes to measuring the energy content of the fundamental frequency
of these notes. But, even with a very capable FFT analyzer, you won't find
much in a piano of this size and type. There are a number of reasons for
this. The condition of the soundboard and its design -- i.e., the way it
was built, the materials used, its ribbing, crown, etc. -- has something
to do with it, but in the case of the Model O, the design of the stringing
scale and the plate are the more likely culprits. (Design characteristics,
I might add, that were faithfully carried over to the Model L.) Indeed,
most pianos of conventional design that are less than approximately 185
cm (6' 1") to 190 cm (6' 3") aren't going to have much energy at the fundamental
frequency in their acoustic wave envelope. Their scales, string layouts
and soundboards just aren't designed to produce it.
<P>However.... We recently completed a non-descript 178 cm (5' 10") grand
on which we have done some major modifying. It has quite a good bass section
for a piano of this size. I got the sound I was after by designing a new
stringing scale for the bass section, shortening the speaking length at
the bottom end by something over 50 mm. This did require designing and
fabricating a new bass bridge, but the process was not particularly difficult
and the results have been quite satisfying. (I also played some games with
the soundboard and rib design, but that's another story.) We're now doing
a similar modification on a Model O. It won't be finished for a few more
weeks, so I can't yet comment on how it will sound. Should be quite good,
however.
<P>Del
<P>--------------------------------------------------
<P>Unknown wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE=-1>Dear list,
This Sunday at our local chapter meeting we employed an RCT to analyze
the partials in the low bass on my 1911 S & S "O". The graph
showed absolutely no fundamental on the lowest 1 1/2 octaves. One
of our members who works at the local Story & Clark factory suggested
that there might be a problem with the downbearing at the back side of
the bass bridge. Keep in mind that this piano had a new board and
bridges installed by New York Piano Center 3 years ago. I always
felt the low bass was very thin sounding. Any ideas?</FONT></FONT>
<FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE=-1>Thanks,Bob SadowskiErie, PA</FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
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