The propose of the bridge, soundboard assembly is to transform vibration into audible sound. A simple test to determine if this is possible on any one piano is to put a vibrating tuning fork on a bridge location. If you get sound there is potential. Everything else is essentially good wood working skills and mechanics. It is more likely you can get decent sound out of a new set of bass strings because they have the mass to move the bridge. As to the quality of that sound, that is an entirely different issue. You could have too much bear but that is correctable when you reset the bridge. I like to use A5 as my sustain test note. I want to hear a minimum of 12 seconds sustain from a medium hard blow, dampers on the strings. Have a great weekend. Newton
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC