soundboardinstal again

[Ron Nossaman]

>I had lately a conversation with Claus Fenner.  If I understand well he was
>explaining  about
>  the way Steinway Hamburg installs their soundboards: since the rim is first
>made they force the board
>for the last millimeters  into the rim , push it,  really stress  it  into
>the rim , tight fit, no gaps
>  and this should be the difference between Steinway and other brands. That
>way in killer octave
>(should be the stiffest part of the soundboard) the board can better resist
>to downbearing and
>produce this Steinwaysound. Or did I misunderstood this?
>
>Danny Boddin
>Ternat Belgium


No, you probably didn't misunderstand it as it was told to you. You're just 
accepting that Claus Fenner and Steinway are right when they say anything. 
It's been my experience that it is utterly unimportant (except for looks) 
that the edge of the soundboard contact the outer rim in any way. The glue 
joint between the panel and inner rim is what does the job. It couldn't 
hurt to fill the area with wedges and epoxy, but it's a lot of time spent 
on something that won't make a difference in the final performance of the 
board, and it most certainly won't help the killer octave.

Ron N