new ribs and treble trouble

antares antares@euronet.nl
Fri, 22 Oct 2004 21:31:57 +0200


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Ok my friend,

As you know, we (grand Piano) have quite a lot of experience with=20
ribbing old boards.
I am not a sound board guy, so I am not going into discussion about the=20=

technical/mechanical aspect.
What I do know however is this :
Usually, when you put new ribs (no spare ribs ok) on an old board, the=20=

overall result will be that of a stronger board, in other words: it=20
sounds more powerful and more supple.
However, if there was a problem with the treble in the old board, that=20=

same problem will re-appear, and that is kind of nightmare -ish.
So before you start doing this, make sure that there is no - real -=20
existing treble trouble.
In that case, it would be much better to install a totally new=20
soundboard and maybe also a new treble bridge. Then there is of course=20=

the trouble with old scaling : if the old scale was faulty, then I=20
assume there is not much you can do about it, except putting in a brand=20=

new frame, or altering the frame, like Ron Overs does.
It remains a tricky business, and especially so with old Steinways.
I have quite some experience with old Steinways and they usually come=20
out pretty good.
nevertheless, If I had the choice between a nice new Steinway B versus=20=

a nice old Steinway B, my choice would definitely be the new one.

Andr=E9



On 22-okt-04, at 10:17, Richard Brekne wrote:

> Long discussion, lots of stuff back and forth on this in the archieves=20=

>  "Damage at cellular level" is like a real can of worms and in reality=20=

> can just as easily interpreted in this application as a positve more=20=

> then a negative.  The fact that it is 100 years old is also a positive=20=

> in many minds. Making pianos is simply not just a matter of=20
> engineering principles and mathematics... in fact these tools are far=20=

> less useful then many here would like to have it.  They become totally=20=

> useless in my mind, when they define away any musicality that does not=20=

> conform to their parameters.
>
> How does the piano sound, how long can it last... that is in the end=20=

> the primary concern.  Re-ribbing old panels is a fairly common=20
> proceedure over here, and I can assure you they sound and perform=20
> quite well... despite whatever concerns about the lack of some=20
> stiffness or other presumed negatives based on whatever understanding=20=

> of relavant engineering principles these concerns stem from.
>
> Heck... even Del a few years back  stated straight out that such a=20
> panel should sound and perform virtually identical to a new panel=20
> similarilly rib crowned... and its easy enough to find that series of=20=

> posts between him and I.  I reacted immediatly to the claim that on=20
> the one hand you had this  "compression damage" thing that virtually=20=

> rendered the panel useless, then on the other hand this same useless=20=

> peice of wood could be rib-crowned and made to function just like a=20
> new rib crowned board.  I still dont see that a clear explaination to=20=

> that seeming contradiction was ever supplied... but clearly that must=20=

> be because of  some lack of understanding on my part.
>
> Cheers
> RicB
>
> David Love wrote:
>
>> Why would you trouble yourself to take the ribs off a panel that has
>> damage at the cellular level and then use it again with new ribs.
>> Especially in the upper end of the piano where much of the stiffness=20=

>> is
>> provided by the panel and not the ribs, this seems like folly to me.
>> That panel you are trying to salvage bears no resemblance to the =
panel
>> that was originally installed once it's gone through 100 years of
>> expansion and contraction.
>> David Love
>> davidlovepianos@comcast.net
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
>
friendly greetings
from
Andr=E9 Oorebeek

"where Music is, no harm can be"

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