Actually, I think the RC&S board doesn't seem to require as bright a hammer because the panel is less stiff (not the assembly, but the panel) and therefore the impedance characteristics are different. I'm not sure that a softer hammer will produce "sparkly highs" it's just that it doesn't take so much of a hard hammer to get the volume out of the instrument. That fact that the hammer is softer may, in fact, reduce the sparkly highs as a softer hammer tends to damp higher partials, and produce the impression of a narrower or more focused tonal spectrum for the same volume. Is that not possible? David Love davidlovepianos@comcast.net Regarding your second question... If the RC/S board doesn't require as bright a hammer to produce sparkly highs, perhaps the voicing technician has more latitude to voice the hammer to emphasize the fundamentals. The result of the RC/S design may well be a richer sound spectrum. Of course that would be my apriori assumption about any design that is more efficient. In answer to your question, I suspect an RC/S board would be more capable of producing whatever tonal qualities the voicing technician wished to achieve, whether it is a darker sound (stronger fund. and weak overtones) or a brighter sound (weak fund. and strong overtones). My point was/is that the more rapid changes in spectral content throughout a note's sustain on a CC board might result in a desirable expressive quality to that design. Peace, Sarah _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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