Josep, My comments are inserted below: -------------------------------------------------- JOSEP PUIG wrote: > . . . Many customers ask me what I have left of the "Steinway" if I have > replaced everything. (I had this question also before when I simply > replaced a set of hammers!) I must admit now that this question makes > more sense to me, since if I replace completely the sb. of a Steiway it > is no longer a Steinway, although it was clearly needing it. > I use to answer that: what's left of a 80 years old Steinway precisely > after 80 years off the factory?... That's a question only you and your customer can answer. We don't worry about it much. Either the final product performs or it doesn't. We use new examples of similar pianos as a basis for comparison. We expect our remanufactured pianos to outperform their new counterparts by every criteria. We set our own standards for musical performance and when we attain that level of performance, we're happy. As you say, who knows what an 80 year old Steinway -- or whatever -- sounded like when it originally left the factory. No one has that kind of tone memory, even if they are old enough to have been around back then. (I've read a few of the responses you've received that compare this situation with that of the violin. While there is no basis for either acoustical or structural comparison between the two, the same thing applies. I've heard much speculation about how violins 'improve' with age. Personally, I doubt that this is the case. Again -- who has been around long enough to prove the question either way? I've always attributed these stories to marketing enthusiasm. There are many people who have a strong vested interest in keeping the value of these remaining instruments very high and going higher.) As may be, all you know for sure is that the piano now has problems. It is almost certain that, no matter what you do now, the remanufactured piano will NOT sound exactly like it did when it was new! It certainly won't if you rebuild it using the original board, no matter how carefully you repair it. You may be able to make the instrument sound better -- or at least less bad -- than it does now, but you will not be able to bring that original soundboard back to its original condition. Even with a new soundboard panel, no matter how you try you will not be able to duplicate exactly the characteristics of the original. You will not be able to set exactly the original downbearing parameters. Nor will you get many of the other details that go into making a piano sound the way it does exactly the same. So what? Your job is to deliver back to the customer the best musical instrument possible given the structure and design of the original. And, with an 80 year old piano that means replacing the soundboard panel and ribs. > Well, what I would like to know is if there is any known structural > changes on wood during time, I mean if there are significant differences > between new vs. old wood in, for instance, capacity of moisture holding > or absorption, vibrational behavior, strength, irreversible deformities, > etc. Where can I find such information? Yes, changes do take place. First, you should study the structural characteristics of wood. I do not know what literature is available in Europe. In the U.S. there is a book published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture know as Agriculture Handbook #72. More popularly, it is called simply the 'Wood Handbook.' This has much of the information you're looking for. Another very useful book is 'Understanding Wood' by R. Bruce Hoadley. Much of what I have to say about this subject has been published in the Piano Technicians Journal. There was a three-part series on this subject a year or two back. You should be able to get reprints of these articles from the PTG Home Office. See the PIANO PAGE. There is also an article on soundboard wood in our web site at <http://www.olynet.com/users/pianobuilders/index.html>. I'd prefer to not have to repeat all of this information on PianoTech. Basically, your results will depend on how the original soundboard was crowned and on how -- by what procedure -- you now intend to establish crown . > By now, I do prefer to recrown the old sounboard (although ungluing it > without damage is like a nightmare) but I wish to know your opinions. I know that this is being done. I have not yet heard a piano that has been rebuilt in this manner, but it is probable that significant improvements in the tone performance of a piano can be realized if the ribs are designed correctly. I do question if those results can equal the performance of the same piano with a new soundboard panel, however. Regards, Del
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