In a message dated 5/7/00 5:51:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time, richardb@c2i.net writes: << there has been a lot of talk about soundboards back and forth regarding the viability of the old style compression soundboard as opposed to boards that are more or less pressed over precurved ribs. >> Well, I hesitate to get involved in a discussion that I have not been a party to from the beginning, but I will make a few observations. What is characterized as old-style or new-fangles is not necessarily so. Much of what we do today in building pianos is not far removed from the way it was done 100 years ago. It is not an either-or situation. Most manufacturers today do cut a crown in the ribs, but we also rely on the effects of "natural" crowning. We continually test ideas in experimental efforts to learn more about how we might build a better piano. More often than not, the experiments raise more questions than they answer! Frank Emerson, engineer Mason & Hamlin
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