On Tue, 04 Dec 2001 20:53:33 Richard Brekne wrote: I seem to remember hearing somebody throwing one of those Steinway stories at me years ago about throwing sand on an unloaded soundboard and putting a set of frequencies on the panel to see what pattern the sand went to... and then trimming, sanding, beveling...whathaveyou the panel appropriatly to achieve a certain pattern they had found led to what they considered the desired result... does anybody know anything about this... whether or not its just another one of those myths... It sounds essentially like a kind of modal analysis technique.. > >Anyways Phil... read Wograms article... its available on line ... if you need the address just give me a wink... and let me know what you think. > >RicB > Ric, I'll check out the article. I believe I have the address. The sand technique is a common method of visualizing the mode shapes of a vibrating body. This is one of the practical techniques I mentioned that violin makers use. Whether Steinway does it I don't know. When I was at the factory I didn't see any evidence of anything like this, but maybe it is in one of the hidden rooms that Ron N. spoke of. Phil --- Phillip Ford Piano Service & Restoration 1777 Yosemite Ave - 215 San Francisco, CA 94124
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