Sostenuto headache

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Clyde:

There may be several things to check. First, if you leave the action too
far forward, this radically affects the strike point in the high treble.
This is a no-no. When you say that several dampers jump, do mean that
they jump up and are caught by the sostenuto rod, or do they just wiggle?

If it is the latter, the rod may be too low. The ideal position of the rod
is such that the blade is at a 7:00 O'Clock position looking from the Bass
end of the action. The tip of the blade should be about 1/16" above the
sostenuto tabs and about 1/16" in front of the tabs when the action is
in regular position. With a flashlight, you can look down between the 
strings and between the hammers to see if the forward/backward adjustment
is correct. You can also actuate the middle pedal to see that the blade
moves back over the tabs when the middle pedal is actuated. Steinway has
a special jig for setting the height of the rod in relationship to the
general height of the tabs.

Now, if the tabs are not in a general straight line, no amount of 
regulating of the rod is going to cure your problems. If the damper lift
was not properly done by the last person who regulated dampers, this must
be taken care of first. There is a very slight adjustment of the tab 
heights which can be made by shimming up the tabs of the damper upper lever.
This should not be done just to correct for poor uneven damper lift by the
keys.

One other thing that novices sometimes do to make a damper pick up with
the sostenuto rod is that they will bend the damper wire forward (toward
player) in order to get engagement. However, this also lowers the tab and
may be self defeating. There are just a lot of things that have to be 
right in order for dampers and sostenuto to work properly.

If you have any other specific questions, write me again.

Jim coleman, sr.


On Fri, 14 May 1999, Clyde Hollinger wrote:

> I hope someone can help me with this.
> 
> Steinway B made in 1979.  Whenever the sostenuto pedal is depressed, I
> hear a thump, and I will see several dampers jump, most notably damper
> A#3.  After much hairpulling and trying moving the sostenuto rail in and
> out, which changed nothing, I eventually discovered that by pulling the
> action out a smidgin (?) the thing would work fine.  So I blocked the
> action out a little at the keyframe stop (dag?), which seemed to solve
> the problem.
> 
> But I never really figured out what was happening here.  Do you know? 
> Is there a better way to solve the problem?  I live in the fear that
> during Sunday's competition something will happen that will have the
> whole world mad at me for all time.  Please advise.  Thanks!
> 
> Clyde Hollinger, RPT
> Lititz, PA
> 
>