compression ridges in New Baldwin grand

[David Love]

I think Mark Potter's summary covered the argument pretty well and is
consistent with what advocates of rib crowning have been saying.  I service
many many Steinways of varying ages and feel quite comfortable with my
technical and voicing skills.  You will have a very hard time convincing me
that there are not a number of them that have soundboard failure.  That
doesn't mean that you can't find a pleasing sound in them, but it also
doesn't mean that they couldn't be better when measured by things such as
clarity, power and sustain.  Those failures are not always a function of
age alone.  The fact that people love their Steinways or the degree to
which Steinway dominates market share should not be the criteria with which
we as technicians assess design and engineering.   While those things are
not unimportant, we have to be able to look beyond that.  I have customers
who love their Lester spinets too.  People often love what they are used to
and use that as a basis for expectations.  That is, until they sit down to
their friends' Steinway and discover that it produces a more powerful and
rounder tone with better sustain.   When a concert pianists goes through 25
pianos in order to pick one what is it that they are listening for?  The
marked differences in the instruments may well be a function of
preparation, touchweight dynamics etc..  But you can be sure that the tone
of each is also a function of how effectively the soundboard is working. 
If we agree that a rib crowned board sounds as good as a compression board,
all things being equal, then their would be no reason to choose one over
the other.  The only issue to consider, then, would be how consistently can
one method produce good results over the other, and what is the likelihood
that one system will function to a higher level over time than the other. 
The science strongly suggests that the rib crowned board has advantages in
those two areas.  He of many words who resides in Texas, has, by his own
admission, tight associations with many Steinway dealers and may have a
vested monetary interest in promoting Steinway (sarcasm intended), seems to
suggest that those arguing the case for rib crowned boards are doing it for
their own self interest and that their views on this subject are isolated
to this list.  My impression, from my own research and reading, is that
there are many soundboard installers using rib crowning and low or zero
compression crowning.  Look at the article by David Hughes in 1998 in the
PTJ , "A Survey of Bellymen...".  Most were crowing the ribs and only 1 of
12 was installing at 4% EMC.  Five years later, I wonder in which way the
trend has continued.  None of them, to my knowledge, are paying kickbacks
to those who generously offer the fruits of their research to the journal
and this list.     

David Love
davidlovepianos@earthlink.net


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Richard Brekne 
To: davidlovepianos@earthlink.net;Pianotech
Sent: 9/27/2003 2:02:06 PM 
Subject: Re: compression ridges in New Baldwin grand


David... I understand this reasoning... along with all the market
argumentation, and the traditionalist stuff... and sure... its most
definantly a factor.. much bigger a factor then it should be. 
But for the life of me... I cant get these to even come close to covering
the disparagy I find between the dominance of the market they have, and
this self destructing soundboard proposition. 
That alone is too alarming a contrast for me to simply brush aside, which
is where all this started this time around. 
Cheers 
RicB 
David Love wrote: 
Do recall how many pianos those concert venues usually look at in order to 
select the one that seems to be performing to their expectations. 
David Love 
davidlovepianos@earthlink.net 
 
-- 
Richard Brekne 
RPT, N.P.T.F. 
UiB, Bergen, Norway 
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no 
http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html 
http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html