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

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Erwinpiano" <Erwinpiano@email.msn.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: June 03, 2001 6:45 PM
Subject: Fw: It won't be a Steinway anymore!/soundboards improving with age?


>    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.

And this was not the only inaccuracy in that piece.



>     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.

Nor was this.



>      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)

No, the internal friction doesn't change by holding the board under stress,
but the wood fibers do take on a certain amount of compression-set. The
strain on the wood fibers decreases as compression-set alters their shape
and form. This changes the soundboard's impedance relationship with the
string plane and alters the rate of energy transfer from the strings to the
soundboard.



> 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,

Right. It's the wood fairies.

Regards,

Del