[CAUT] after ring on bass damper

[David Stocker]

There have been pianos made with too little MASS. It is not just the softness of the felt, nor how it hits; but a combination of the three. Too much mass would not help.

I have a couple of 1900 to 1920 Chickering Quartergrands with the lovely screw in damper wires. The single string notes have absolutely too little mass to stop the string. The quick solution is a "sinker": a lead fishing weight, bead shaped with a hole down the middle. Split, install on the wire and then clamp down hard with pliers. I have had success with an occasional upright damper, as well. 

Dave Stocker, RPT
Tumwater, WA


From: Joe Goss 
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 20:54
To: caut at ptg.org 
Subject: Re: [CAUT] after ring on bass damper


Wouldn't weights only be treating the symptom>
Joe Goss BSMusEd MMusEd RPT
imatunr at srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: wimblees at aol.com 
  To: ilvey at sbcglobal.net ; caut at ptg.org 
  Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 9:38 PM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] after ring on bass damper


  David

  I thought I could solve the problem that way, too. But on all Samick products, there are already two weights in the levers, and there's no more room to put any more. 
    

  Wim

  -----Original Message-----
  From: David Ilvedson <ilvey at sbcglobal.net>
  To: caut at ptg.org
  Sent: Sat, Aug 1, 2009 6:04 pm
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] after ring on bass damper


Wim,

If the rings goes away when you add a little pressure to the damper head, you 
have isolated the problem to that damper.   I'd check the weight/spring tension 
on the damper.  Is it different than the dampers around it?   I have a Sty D 
that has some damper over-ring, not isolated.   I'm thinking the bass dampers 
don't have enough damper weight/tension...is there measurement for this?   

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044

----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos at comcast.net>
To: caut at ptg.org
Received: 8/1/2009 8:46:35 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] after ring on bass damper


>Try working with the seating of the damper fore and aft.  Tilt the head
>slightly forward or backward until you get it quiet.  Sometimes the location
>of the node creates some problems that careful seating will take care of.

> 

>David Love

>www.davidlovepianos.com

> 

>From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
>wimblees at aol.com
>Sent: Saturday, August 01, 2009 8:04 PM
>To: Pianotech at PTG.org; caut at ptg.org
>Subject: [CAUT] after ring on bass damper

> 

>I've got a Kohler & Campbell 5'9" grand that has very noticeable after ring
>on B1 and C2. At the convention I asked Roger Jolly about it, and he showed
>me how to "voice" the damper felt, by sticking a long needle into the felt,
>first from the front, and then from the back. He demonstrated this technique
>on several notes on a couple of different pianos, and it worked quite well.
>But yesterday I went to the piano in question, and tried to do the same
>thing. I got the damper to work a little better, but there is still a lot of
>after ring. 

>This is not a sympathetic vibration coming from another string. The damper
>is properly seated, with plenty of follow through. The actual ring of the
>string stops, but there is excessive after ring. It goes away when I put
>just a little bit of pressure on the damper head.
> 
>I'm open to other suggestions. 

>Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
>Piano Tuner/Technician
>Mililani, Oahu, HI
>808-349-2943
>Author of: 
>The Business of Piano Tuning
>available from Potter Press
>www.pianotuning.com

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