Stethoscope (was: A Metalic Buzz)

John Musselwhite musselj@cadvision.com
Mon, 22 Dec 1997 19:09:47 -0700


At 10:45 AM 12/22/97, Roger wrote:

>                One quick thing to try, sound board buttons can give this
>nasty syptom, feel if you can rotate them, be careful tightening as they

I tuned a relatively-new spinet with that exact rattle/buzz in it just the
other day. The first thing I thought was perhaps a forgotten glass jar once
used as a "humidifier" had walked its way over to the soundboard. There was
no empty scum-covered jar so out came my new auto-mechanic's stethoscope,
with which the noise was located almost instantly. 

This particular tool is a great way to find those odd rattles, squeeks and
buzzes. It comes with a long thin removeable probe which reaches almost
anywhere with pinpoint accuracy. One touch of the probe to the soundboard
made the noise as loud as the piano itself. A quick check of the back
showed no foreign objects touching the board, and a finger on the buttons
found one loose enough to spin. The noise was gone in less than two minutes
and the cost was included in the pitch raise, which incidentally was done
first.

These stethoscopes are about $10 at discount auto-parts stores and they'll
pay for themselves the first time you have a "difficult" noise.

				John



Season's Greetings from  John Musselwhite, RPT 
Calgary, Alberta Canada - musselj@cadvision.com
http://www.cadvision.com/musselj/



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