Soundboards

[ANRPiano@AOL.COM]

Thought I'd start a new thread.

The other day I tuned a Kimball circa 1950, approx. 6' grand.  Not a bad 
sounding piano if I do say so myself since I rebuilt it about 4 years ago.  
(Just a new pinblock and strings.)  What I find most intriguing is the 
soundboard is plywood.  I have seen laminate soundboards in all sorts of 
truly horrible spinets and consoles, but I don't ever remember one sounding 
so well.

If my memory serves me correctly, Del mentioned laminate soundboards as a 
theoretically intriguing area some time ago in a Journal article.  Also (if 
memory will serve me twice in one night) Mr. Birkett once said something to 
the effect that a soundboard could be made out of nearly any material if the 
maker knew what they were doing.

I apologize to both gentleman in advance if I miss quoted or summarized 
anything they may or may not have said.  The question still stands:  what 
about the use of alternative materials in soundboards and what construction 
aspects may have allowed this Kimball to sound so much better than other 
similarly constructed pianos?

Andrew Remillard