Music Schools

2015/04/01


As you know, the soundboard has important role as conducting vibration from strings.
To fully transmit the vibration, the soundboard material requires elasticity and
quick vibration. Piano soundboard is thus made by thin and large wooden plate.
If soundboard material is made of metal, it both amplify low and high notes.
In contrarily, wood can amplify only low notes and absorbs the high notes.

As appropriate material for soundboard, Yezo Spruce (Picea jezoensis) is famous
in Japan. The reason for its light weight and the speed of vibration transmission.
In addition, the advantage is its fine grain which enables to express more faithful tone.
The Yezo spruce belongs to "a tree of the genus Picea," same as European soundboard;
famous as Rumainian Spruce and Swiss Spruce. Those spruce soundboard effectively
absords harmonic sound, and emit rich sound.

Italian Ciresa soundboard is famous by using spruce trees in Fiemme Valley,
North Italy. Antonio Stradivari, legend of violin maker, chose the wood here for
his violins. The Ciresa soundboards are often installed in Kawai premium model
K50ME(year 2000 millennium model) and high-quality special model of RX and
SK series.
Please kindly play and compare the different sounds.