> Why do there seem to be more soundboard replacements and >replacing advocates in areas that are either drier or colder than where I >live? Alligators. We don't have to watch the ground as closely as you folks do, so more of our attention can go to watching gir... er, listening to soundboards. > On what do we judge a soundboard? Is it by sustain time? Clarity of tone? >Richness of timbre? Ability to transmit a loud powerful passage without >breaking down? How do we judge this? This one is a major problem. How many times have you had a customer insist that their poor little nasty sounding piano was a fine instrument with a "BEAUTIFUL" tone? "BEAUTIFUL", in this case is always pronounced like it was coming from a Baptist preacher in full cry, hence the accent. It's like a salesman's question of "what makes this a good piano". It's no one thing you can point to and test against a set of universal standards. It's the sum of a lot of things, some of which you've mentioned. > Is the mere fact that a sounding board is X years old a reason to replace >it? No. > Is the mere fact is that a piano is being restrung reason to replace a >board? No. > Is there any expectation of improving over a boards performance, by >installing a new board, when the old board has a good, rich, clean, high >sustain time quality? Very probably, but if the old board is functioning that well, there's little need to replace it. Then again, with all this good sound being produced by the old piano, you don't need to replace the hammers either, right? > Is there any expectation that a board that has lasted X years, and still >performing its function, is suddenly going to 'die' just because it was >restrung? Again, it's not that simple. Soundboard functionality isn't a binary condition, with 100% yes on one side of the toggle, and 100% no on the other. I regularly tune pianos that sound pretty good in the summer, when the humidity is high, and absolutely wretched in the winter. The soundboard is shot, and right on the edge of functionality. Assessing these pianos for rebuild in high humidity months and judging the soundboards on tone and sustain in certain areas would result in rebuilds that sounded nearly as wretched in the winter as the original. > The theory/common >knowledge that since some are going to fail 'all' are going to fail is not >needfully as valid, or even perhaps that 'most' are going to fail. Absolutely true, and I'm sure you would buy insurance from a company with a history of refusing to pay valid claims, or a car with a low rated service record, assuming that they can't all be bad and you'll get a good one - odds being in your favor and all. The point here, of course, being that certain approaches aren't statistically as trustworthy as certain others. Again, it's not a binary certainty, just a probability guideline. ><<"Thought: If there is such a demand for the nostalgic look and the >pre-eminent tone associated with larger upright instruments, why aren't >they being produced?">> Almost invariably, my upright rebuilds have been either players, as a toy, or the family heirloom, as a nostalgia thing. It is rarely done because someone bought a pretty case and wanted it turned into a piano. I've gotten calls like this, and they will balk at the price, since they already paid too much for the carcass up front, the piano already "works", but "just needs a couple of little repairs", and pianos don't wear out anyway. These folks phone around until they find someone who'll file the hammers, replace the bridle straps, glue the loose jack flanges back on, and tune it a half semitone flat. I have never, repeat - never - rebuilt an upright because someone wanted good tone quality. After all they already have that "BEAUTIFUL" tone. > I can think of several reasons why this is so although I don't recall >anyone saying anything about "pre-eminent tone". :-) --------------------------------------------------------- >As for "why aren't they being produced"......they are but not many of them >are selling and for the reasons they aren't, see the above^. >My thoughts. >Jim Bryant (FL) It's all because you started your list with reason #2, calling it reason #1, and omitting the real reason #1, which is - There is no emotional and/or glandular imperative to own an upright, as there is for a grand. Uprights, after all, aren't "grand". Since there's no nostalgic leverage toward the vertical when someone is shopping for a piano, the only other emotional foundation available for making the decision is a combination of how much it costs, and how much mystique do I get for the money. Occasionally, someone actually factors the sound quality and playability into the decision, but only after the emotional needs are met. And that's what I think about that this week. Opinions are subject to change without notice - some restrictions may apply. Ron N
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