In regard to Dennis's problem on S&S 9' damping on F2 I'm sure by now you have already checked to see that it was not just one string which was ringing. (that case usually involves one side of the damper felt being thicker than the other side) I have seen this same problem at ASU, Tempe, AZ. If the damper is rocked back so that the back damper rests heavy on the unison keeping the front damper from resting on the string, you can have the same result. Another solution is to remove the damper, replace the action and lightly touch the strings where the damper felts would be touching. If you get the same pitch over-ring, then you need to slightly change the position of the damper felt on the damperhead. Sometimes a shorter damper felt is better than a longer one if it is off the nodal point of the partial which is over-ringing. Be very careful in re-installing the damper, so that the rocking balance is correct. On only rare occasions have I needed to add a third damper felt under the middle of the damper head. There are a few occasions where the over-ringing was a residual of a low Bass string partial. This is found less on Steinways because of the extra damper helper springs. Sometimes in these cases though, you can help by changing the offending Bass dampers. I believe Dennis has over-ruled this problem, because he was able to stop the over-ring by toubhing the F2 strings and stopping the overring, which proves that it was indeed in that note's damping characteristics. Jim Coleman, Sr. pianotoo@imap2.asu.edu
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