That Grand Damper "Whing"Sound

[Wimblees@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-04-04 07:05:07 EST, you write:

>I had a person ask me yesterday whether I thought there was much that could
>be done about that sound grand dampers make when the sustain pedal
>is depressed and they are lifting off the strings.  He had noticed that it
>was often less in older pianos than in newer ones.  I told him that it was
>being made when the bichord and trichord felts were being pulled from
>between the strings, and the sound was caused by this rubbing, then the
>strings having no damping action, were continuing to vibrate, causing
>this noise.  I agreed that older pianos did it less, but it was because the
>felts were wearing out, and consequently, the damping action was less, too.
>We were obviously talking in generalities, as opposed to a specific piano,
>or specific instance.  He wished there were some way to lessen this noise
>without lessening the damping action.  Comments?
>
>Arnold Schmidt, Raleigh, NC



Arnold:

When damper felts are first cut, they are rough. In the factory they do not
take the time to smooth them out. Therefore, although it does take time, the
best way to solve this problem is to remove each damper and sand the sides of
the felt. This will eliminate a lot of the noise.

Willem Blees RPT
St. Louis