Reverse Crown Soundboard

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: June 28, 2001 5:36 PM
Subject: Reverse Crown Soundboard


> I just finished reading an article by Del Fandrich in the December 1997
PTG
> Journal about soundboards. Great reading. I'm having a blast with my
20-Year
> Journal CDs. In one of his side notes he mentions that some pianos have
been
> built with reverse crown. Who has done this? When?

Rippen is the first one that comes to mind. I don't know when they started
the practice but the pianos we sold in the 1970s had laminated soundboards
that had been glued up to flat ribs in flat cauls. The were given a liberal
dose of string bearing and allowed to crown backward.

I don't know what the pianos would have sounded like with more conventional
soundboard design, but those we saw sounded quite decent for their size and
were exceedingly stable.



> Has Steinway ever done
> this in the past or now? I had a new 1098 a couple years ago with a full
> 1/4" of reverse crown and plenty of downbearing. Anyone else ever seen
this
> or know about it?

Not intentionally. Though its been known to happen.

-- ddf