Piano Design Question

[Farrell]

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Hi Richard - Perhaps I did not make my question clear enough. I think =
your answer targeted conventional piano design. I'm trying to step out =
of the box. I am asking about designing a piano with no limits on size =
or shape. As such, overstringing to maximize bass string length has no =
merit - just make the piano longer if you want a longer bass string. =
Also, putting the bass bridge in the center of the board also looses its =
meaning, because you can make the case any size or shape you want - so =
even if the bass bridge is down at one end of the scale, you can stretch =
the case (make it bulbous if you want) down there and provide the bass =
bridge with any amount of soundboard area you find advantageous.=20



And BTW, with a conventional piano design, I don't know that maximizing =
the length of bass strings is so singly important. I think more =
important is to achieve a good compromise between length and mobility =
(i.e. and looooong bass string with a 5mm backscale won't do any piano =
any good).=20



Terry Farrell



Richard Cromwell wrote:

In my minimal studies of piano design the benefits that overstrung =
scales provide over a straight scale are pretty simple

=20

Overstringing maximizes the length of the bass strings while being able =
to position the bass bridge closer to the center/most flexible part of =
the soundboard.



This is important as the amplitude of the lower frequencies produced by =
the bass strings move the board more and thus benefit from the =
additional throw available closer to the center.  I am not going to =
bother to go into why maximizing the length of the bass strings is =
important, because if you don't know. you shouldn't be reading this. I =
think that the designers of old felt that the substantial benefits =
yielded in the quality of tone produced in the bass section of the piano =
by overstinging far outweigh any resulting deficiencies (which there are =
of course) in the tenor or anywhere else for that matter. which makes =
sense to me.




  =20
  To those who delve into piano design (and loose sleep over such =
things)......

  =20

  My understanding is that the bass/tenor area of the typical modern =
grand piano soundboard poses a challenge from the design standpoint =
because in pretty much the same location you want a very flexible =
soundboard for the bass and a stiffer soundboard for the lower tenor. =
This necessitates compromise.

  =20

  Yes - is that true?

  =20

  Wouldn't a straight-strung arrangement work better? Seems to me that =
designing a piano with performance being the #1 criteria, a straight =
strung (or parallel or whatever - you know what I mean) arrangement =
would offer the designer the luxury of designing the soundboard to meet =
the needs of the various sections of the string scale - and not having =
to make the same area suit two different needs.=20

  =20

  Now keep in mind that I ask this question strictly from the =
performance (musical) standpoint and not the standpoint of how well a =
design might sell. I believe it is the case that one can design a piano =
with longer bass strings for a given piano length with an overstrung =
design - if the marketing department is put in charge of piano design. =
I'm talking about eliminating the marketing department and the =
accounting department and just dealing with how to build the most =
acoustically pleasing piano. (I know, silly idea.) Now rememeber - no =
marketing - we can make the case ANY shape we want (we don't have to =
have a flat side on the bass side)!

  =20

  Without having to concern yourself with factory sales, would you =
rather design a straight-strung or overstrung piano? Which approach give =
the designer more freedom to design an optimal piano?

  =20

  Thanks. Tomorrow in the shop will pivot on this.....    ;-)

  =20

  FWIW: Seems to me that straight-strung offers significant design =
benefits because each area of the string scale occupies a unique area of =
the soundboard - and hence that area of the soundboard can be designed =
to optimize the performance of that area of the string scale.

  =20

  Terry Farrell

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