Hi folks. Having spent the month of october at the Acadamy in Hamamatsu, I had the opportunity to meet a couple of the more legendary technicians in Japan. One of these was a fellow named Mr. Takahara who had been involved in design issues for the CF III for many years and recently moved on to work for Steinway Japan. You all know me and my interest in comparing some of the information tossed around here on the list with what thoughts such people have whenever the chance permits, so I asked him a few things about soundboards and plates. According to him every soundboard panel meant for domestic instruments is dried to 4 % EMC before ribs are glued on. This is also the case for several instruments being made for export, depending on the end destination. I was of course a bit suprised by all this given the very high humidity in Hamamatsu while I was there. When I mentioned some of the concerns aired on this list about drying panels out so much he simply said it was not in his experience that this created any special problems for pianos that are correctly cared for. Mr. Takahara was also very much interested in researching plate acoustics, and the role they play in the overall sound production of the piano, indeed this seemed to be one of the reasons he moved on from Yamaha, the chance to try other ideas and perspectives in his search for the best acoustical properties for plates. I gathered that he was after some very high pitched clear ring from the plate, and was reminded of some bits of stories I've heard about plate tuners in the old Petrof factory from years ago. A really interesting fellow with a lot on his mind, moving in on the closing years of a long carreer. And yet another major player in the piano design game (Yamaha in this case) who subscribes to the high compression soundboard. Cheers RicB
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