Steinway damper ringing problem

[Ron Nossaman]

>I'm sure the honorable gentleman has very dry palms.

Well, I don't know about the honorable gentleman, but I sure do. My 
fingertips delaminate in the winter too.


><grin> This is the
>area I like using the "trouble shooting stick" mentioned in an earlier
>post so that I don't have to touch the strings any more than necessary.
>Not picking on you Ron, they just oxidize quickly enough in our area
>(and Wim's) as it is. Besides, I can reach a wider area with my stick or
>turn it so that only one string is damped. Sounds like I need to take
>some pictures.

No problem.. I'm not picked on, and you're absolutely right. I've spent a 
lot of time through the years trying to convince folks not to pat and touch 
strings. Not that it's worked, but I try. If you're hiring a stringer, the 
first thing you do is shake hands with him or her. Pulling back a wet 
and/or sticky hand is not a good sign. With another tech, I tend to assume 
that they already know whether or not they are personally corrosive (to 
strings), and will modify such advice as necessary. Watch the techs around 
the grands in the exhibition hall in Nashville. There'll be plenty of 
string touchers and pluckers among them. Maybe pickers and grinners too.

BTW, since this came up, there's something I've wondered for a long time. 
How do techs who can't touch strings without corroding them change or 
splice broken strings in field repairs? Do any of you folks carry gloves?

Ron N