#Piano soundboard full#

For instance, I found that many boards are just too heavy, which requires more energy to get it to move.Īn analysis of over 500 soundboards shows, massed produced piano makers didn't take the extra time needed to refine the compression soundboard to maximize its performance. When rebuilders copy the physical dimensions of the old board, they're also copying the old boards mistakes. Bounce two on a concrete floor and often one will have a different pitch than the other. It's interesting that two similar pieces of wood can have the same physical dimensions, but have different acoustical properties.

#Piano soundboard full#

THE TONAL RESULTS ARE A DEEP FULL BASS, LONG SUSTAIN, AND CRYSTAL CLEAR TONES.Įliminating associated problems of the break, and making voicing much much easier.Ĭopying the Original Soundboard is a Mistake all others make. Again using specialized measuring equipment. Then the panel driving points are aligned to the rib driving points and the bridge. Next the panel is made to the correct thickness, and graded according to the Golden Ratio as a layout pattern. This is done by adjusting the scalloping on a specialized machine I invented. EVERY MASS-PRODUCED PIANO I HAVE STUDIED, CONTAIN ACOUSTIC MISMATCHES.Īfter each Naturally Bowed rib is hand selected and properly sized, the driving point of each rib is adjusted so that it is in alignment with the bridge. If the driving points of the ribs and panel and bridges are not in proper alignment, then a MISMATCH occurs resulting in ENERGY LOSS. Each rib is computer engineered to determine the proper dimension, stiffness, and to create smoothness according to its scale position.Īcoustic Driving Points. Energy is transferred from the strings to the soundboard, thus driving points are created. Further, the grain also is a true arch, which is stronger than a cut arched.Įngineering. These are the proper rib stock to use which is then hand selected for the following processes. Ribs with natural internal stresses will arch into a 60 radius arch. For Longevity and Maximum strength, rib stock is aged on special designed racks made for warm air flow. I use and manufacture what i call the Naturally Bowed Rib. I have made substantial improvements over the traditional methods.

My Unique Compression Crowning method takes advantage of internal forces creating a structure with a high stiffness to weight ratio, and allows for complete adjustments of acoustic driving points.

However, sound synthesis of real and modified pianos are used as reference tests to assess our main objective, namely to reflect faithfully structural modifications in the produced sound, and thus to make this tool helpful for both instrument makers and researchers of the musical acoustics community.My piano soundboards are made to take full advantage of many acoustic properties and thus are not copies, but improved versions of the originals. The exact resemblance between synthesis and natural sounds is not the primary purpose of the software. The calculation of the sound is split into four modules that compute respectively the modal basis of the stiffened soundboard, the string dynamics excited by the hammer, the soundboard dynamics excited by the string vibration, and the sound radiation. We introduce the concept of Sound Computer-Aided Design through the framework of a program that is intended to simulate the acoustic results of virtual pianos. * Corresponding author: design of pianos is mainly based on empirical knowledge due to the lack of a simple tool that could predict sound changes induced by modifications of the geometry and/or the mechanical properties of the soundboard. Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides, UMR 7649 École Polytechnique-Institut Polytechnique de Paris-CNRS, Rte de Saclay, 91120 Palaiseau, France

IMSIA, UMR 9219 CNRS-EDF-CEA-ENSTA Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Chemin de la Hunière, 91120 Palaiseau, France Benjamin Elie 1 *, Benjamin Cotté 1 and Xavier Boutillon 2