!Wood cell fairies/soundboards improving with age?

[Erwinpiano]

Del and list

    I can see that you all have gotten some mileage out of my post of which
Del and others made some interesting comments.
   My real main point which I was trying to share seems to have been lost on
you all since the real issue of the thread was tone improvement of
soundboards over time.  I was only trying to state that I  have observed
this change over time as I do follow some of the belly jobs that go out.
After how else do you learn any thing from what your doing.
  I'm guessing that part was either dismissed as subjective crap or no one
was interested in that part of the post? ( Much in  this business is
subjective)
I.a Psycho-acoustic affect of touch weight in tandem with tone
(bright/mellow) The actual touch weight being perceived as light or heavy
can have nothing to do with the actual weight issue but the  perception of
weight is determined by how hard the player must press the keys to get the
desired dynamic. Talk about subjective, yeah and your customer wants you to
fix it by putting more lead or less in the keys.
   I bring this up because there is a lot of great science on the list but I
see the subjective as a possible tool to better understand the science.
   Hey all I know is I have hears soundboard tone change over time and
that's all I was really trying to say.Take it for what it's worth


----- Original Message -----
From: "Delwin D Fandrich" <pianobuilders@olynet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 9:35 PM
Subject: Re: It won't be a Steinway anymore!/soundboards improving with age?


>
> ----- 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
>