oh!! a Steinway O

[A440A@aol.com]

Les Smith writes;
>OTOH, if the piano were to go into an environment were it's usage demands
>were less severe, it could perhaps be restored, using the original, but
>now repaired soundboard and bridges and action, thus >preserving much of
>the original character of the instrument.

     I must ask where time comes into this equation.  A soundboard  doesn't
need replacement unless the crown has gone, (or severe cracking or damage is
extant).  I personally think that spruce improves with age.  However, the
"original character" of the instrument came from a piece of spruce that is
now, through the aging process,  very different than when it was installed.
 Is it not  reasonable to think that the piano was built to sound its best
when new?
         A case could be made that a new factory installed soundboard would
render the instrument closer to its "original" condidtion. The wood may not
be quite so choice, but I think the adhesives are better.
       The finest sounds I have heard from a Steinway Piano have come from a
1915 instrument, built in the winter months,  and not a crack in the original
board. While slightly less string deflection, (downbearing, I know, but that
is a different thread!) is measured in the c52-c64 octave, the eveness and
complex response is there in spades!.   The original block is still there,
5/0 pins,  tunes like a dream.  sporting a new action, and strings,  this
piano has stopped several artists in their tracks.  They all say the same
thing,  "This is what they used to be like!".
       Yes, it will need a new block in 10 or 15 years, and I hope I am here
to do it. But at the moment, the configuration of the structure is so
acoustically right, that I would no more upset the balance than I would  take
the top off of a pre-war Martin guitar.  There needs to be some appreciation
for what positive things age can do for musical instruments.
rambling regards,
Ed Foote