A treble in trouble

[Ted Simmons]

Andre and list,
   Perhaps you can help me with this problem.  I service a Steinway M that
was reconditioned with new pinblock, strings, hammers, etc. by a reputable
rebuilder whose credentials are immaculate.  The piano is in a Church. The
rebuilders are located an hour's drive from me and I am their technician in
this area.
   Each time I show up for a tuning I have to give the piano a pitch raise
because it is at least 8 cents or more flat.  I tuned it not quite 2 months
ago and 2 days ago it was 7.8 cents flat.  It has received 8 tunings since
its reconditioning.  Other pianos rebuilt by this firm that I have serviced
have held pitch very well.  No problems.  I suspected the problem to be
plate flange to pinblock fit but the rebuilder claims his men were
meticulous in fitting the new Bolduc pinblock.  I am going back Tuesday
(10/28) to take some measurements and to check the pinblock fit to plate. I
wriggled underneath the piano to check the soundboard and ribs and saw
nothing suspicious.  The rebuilder suspects that perhaps the dampp-chaser
heater rods are not the correct wattage. Is there anything else that I
should check that would cause this problem?  I would appreciate any
suggestions.


>Hello Listers,
>Some time ago (you know, as time goes by...) we had an interesting
>discussion about some trouble I had with a Steinway model A.
>Just to remind you all (y'all) what the problem was with the instrument:
>The sound in the third string section, counted from left to right (octave
>c''to about e''') was very very bad.
>I was called in by a piano dealer (not a Steinway dealer) because he had
>installed new original Steinway hammers and he wanted me to regulate and
>voice the grand.
>At first, I noticed that the hammerline of the brand new hammers was not
>correct at all, so I started  doing hammer travel and spacing, followed by
>a correction of the hammershanks in the treble to the desired length, and
>this took me some time as you understand (...so glad somebody finally
>understands).
>After having done this, I took a long time for regulation, tuning and
>first voicing.
>By then it was about 4 in the afternoon and I began to worry about that
>particular trouble section in the treble....my treble was in trouble!!
>
>Actually, this Steinway A now had a pretty good touch and it sounded
>pretty good too! except for that one section.
>At that moment on that afternoon, I was tired and a bit unhappy..as you
>can imagine.
>I told the owner of the shop that I was not trough with this one, and that
>I would ask around.
>Which I did, because I put my problem before you guys and gals, and I
>received some really good answers. See..never too old to learn >(loin..my
>wife happens to be from NYC..haha).
>
>Anyway, shortly afterwards (that time again!), I was in the Steinway
>factory in Hamburg and I had quite a long discussion about this special
>case.
>I think that I now have a better understanding about why that string
>section sounded so bad.
>I learned in Hamburg that with this model A,  it is often necessary to
>change the hammerline in that particular string section, and not just 1 mm
>or so, but sometimes 2 mm or even more!
>
>After having learned about this, I thought that it would be helpful to
>tell my colleagues on the list about it.
>So...if you work on an older Steinway model A (in this case, made in
>Hamburg), and you have a problem in the third string section, counted from
>left to right (octave c''to about e'''), then I hope that you will
>remember my tiny story.
>
>No no! thank you..that's fine! this time without charge....
>
>
>
>Friendly greetings from :
>
>CONCERT PIANO SERVICE
>André Oorebeek
>Amsterdam, the Netherlands
>
>‰  where MUSIC is no harm can be  ‰