Fw: It won't be a Steinway anymore!/soundboards improving with age?

[Erwinpiano]

  Andre, Conrad



   Excellant post and I agree indeed new wood does sound different.
   According to the 1955 reprint on sound board material in the May issue of
the journal the author states that new woods such as soundboard spruce feed
off the resin reservoir left in them, the older the wood the less resin.This
is not the first time I've heard this.  At some point in time a soundboard
is at the point of no return or at least for sure diminishing tonal return
as the cells degenerate from force, atmosphere and resin depletion.
    The author also eludes to the subjective experience of the sound board
improving with time and that it might have something to do with internal
friction.
      Varifying what other rebuilders posted on this phenomena I must
confess that I've heard this many times.(oh no he's gone round the bend).
My first sound board years ago was a Gravagne board in an A -3 stwy. Just
after it was strung up and stabilized ,myself and several rebuilder
associates were no that impressed with the performance. They made comments
like oh that's nice, maybe some more voicing. However after bout 3 months of
sitting round the shop with only modest playing the tone really started to
develop.  When the same friends came back to play it they asked me what I
had done to get it to improve. Just tuning I replied.
   I knew what I was hearing but couldn't explain it.  I called Nick
Gravagne and inquired if he was familiar with this and he said he was but
couldn't explain it either.
     In retrospect I think it has to do more with the internal frictions
changing as the panel is under the downbearing force than any voicing or
tuning.( probably glue and lacquer curing)  My own opinion,subjective as it
is,is that playing music and the vibrational effect on internal friction or
through the cosmic alignment of wood cell fairies or whatever has something
to do with the tonal improvements, But I'm not sure how long the window of
improvement is open. I've seen one of my own swy B rebuilds bloom over the
course of 5 years and now believe it to be at its peak.
     With the wood  facts in evidence my response to the the person who
poses the "it won't be a steinway anymore" is that really it's not a
steinway now it's the carcass of a steinway!!!!!!!!.(or whatever brand)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@KSCABLE.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2001 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: It won't be a Steinway anymore!


> >In the end I am really convinced that the wood conditions alter over the
> >years : It gets un-supple, it gets tired from the unrelenting strain, it
> >dries out, the wood cells change...everything changes, just like in old
> >paper for instance. No wonder new wood sounds different.
> >
> >André Oorebeek
>
> Me too. Good post, André.
>
>
> Ron N