[CAUT] Flooring for a concert hall

[Jim Busby]

Thanks Richard! This is very informative.
Jim

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Richard Adkins
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 1:02 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Flooring for a concert hall

You might like to listen to the NPR radio show on redoing Boston Symphony Hall's floor...trying to
avoid the mistakes done to Carnegie Hall....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6161878

or

read

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2006/08/06/after_105_years_bso_to_enter_a_new_stage/

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Our large hall has a pine stage. The sound is warm with good bass. The concert grands always
sound great in there. The small hall has a maple stage w/concrete below that. It is "bass shy",
rather harsh sounding, perhaps due to the linoleum tiles under the audience seats. While
the pianos sound OK in there, they don't sound wonderful.

If your hall is one of the "Modern" halls, that sounds like a Lincoln Center hall, or various University
Halls built in the 60s and 70s...it is probably a bit bass shy....(unless it is boomey)....I've not run
across a hall from that period that had a "warm" sound.

If you want that warm supportive sound with good bass, then...perhaps  take a clue from the Vienna Philharmonic and go with the softer stage. Except the maple stage will probably hold up better.
I believe in the first redo at Carnegie, they put in a Mahoganey floor (besides concrete)....

According to Horowitz, the hall was "ruined" and that's a quote. For his concert there...must have
been in 86, he had to place his piano towards the rear of the stage. Could anything be more depressing
to someone who'd played there so frequently and knew the sound?

One other point to consider is staining the stage. In a world, DON'T. Anytime someone gouges it,
or puts down gaff tape, then rips it off....you get a nice bare wood mark, in sharp contrast to
the stained wood. They made that mistake here. Now they have to restain the stage from time to
time at added cost. I don't know what possessed them!

I cannot imagine that the so called dance floor covering will do anything to enhance the sound. It
may even make it sound harsher.

Well, these are my views and observations of several halls I visited of that vintage. Perhaps newer
halls are better. Perhaps Maple floors are OK as long as there is no concrete beneath them?

You need a fine acoustician perhaps to advised you.

Above all, do no harm!

Good Luck with it.
Cheers,
Richard
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