I have a feeling like I am dealing with a question similar to "yow-yowing" bass strings: a sound that will only go away upon replacing strings. The piano in question is a 1924 M&H Ax3 with a few individual bass strings where one high harmonic "pokes its head out." At least that's what I hear when the owner asks me to listen to his piano. His regular technician has not only tuned and regulated, but has also voiced the piano. That technician is a close friend, a man I respect, who is better on voicing than I am, but claims he cannot hear what the customer complains about. To mix metaphors, I would say the technician hears the forest, the customer cannot hear the forest for the trees--that little pin-prick of sound that he claims destroys the usefulness of the piano. In the past I have noticed the same thing among the wound trichords of a Steinway D, at a college where the music faculty was totally unaware of the sound. They heard the forest, I was aware of one tree. Back to the M&H--I heard it on several bass notes, and in each case it was only one string of the bichord. I opened my big fat mouth and suggested replacing the bass strings (thinking of using the best available), but forgetting that I have gotten out of that work, turning all such requests over to of all people, this owner's technician. Now I have the owner after me to replace the bass strings. What is the chance the problem would be solved by moving the hammer of the offending note a mm or so in or out, to change the place where it hits the string? Any other suggestions? I sure don't want to spoil a friendship with a colleague. Bill Maxim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20090815/49c76394/attachment.htm>
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