This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment List, About a month ago, I started a thread about soundboards and whether = old wood sounded better than new wood. That discussion went into = overtime and I do NOT wish to start it over. Since that thread was = posted, I have torn apart a few landfill quality pianos for experimental = purposes. I disected the soundboards to see what makes them tick, so to = speak. Here's an observation for your information. =20 I tore apart 2 Lester spinets. The one made in '46 had a solid spruce = soundboard and several cracks. The one made in '57 appeared to be a = nice flawless spruce board with no cracks. I very carefully removed it. = It turned out to be a plywood soundboard covered with a beautiful = grainy veneer on both sides. Perhaps that's why it had no cracks? = Perhaps that's also why it had the tone it did. =20 Today, my son is gutting an old Kimball spinet with a mahogany = soundboard. It too turns out to be veneer over plywood. Tomorrow we'll = get into a Story and Clark console with the famous "Storytone" = soundboard, made of mahogany. I may prove to be wrong but I have a = suspicion that I'm going to find mahogany veneer over plywood. =20 My point is this: There can be some hidden factors affecting the tone = of a piano that both the public and we as piano technicians may not be = aware of...such as a misleading soundboard. =20 In the future if I ever get into voicing an older vertical piano again = and the hammers won't give me the tone I thought it would...maybe the = hammers aren't the problem. =20 regards Ron Shiflet =20 ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/65/4c/f5/91/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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