Phone messasge about S&S

[harvey]

Hello list. I need your ideas.

Sorry to interrupt this beautiful fall weekend. I normally don't
participate in the [after-the-fact] puzzlers that are presented here,
mainly because the resulting guesses take up so much bandwidth, and the
writer already knows the answer to the puzzle. This is the other kind --
client far away, and limited information is known at the moment. So, I'm
presenting the situation, along with my thoughts, and reaching out for
other possibilities...

Verbatim phone message heard tonight, including almost non-existent verbal
pauses:
"Hi Jim, this is <client> calling. There's something terribly wrong with
the Steinway to the point where it's really not even playable but it's some
kind of horrible buzzing sound on many of the keys and it... it almost
sounds like there's a note sounding through but it's out of tune
[translation: the note or sound, not the piano] and it certainly isn't the
one I'm striking; so I don't know what's wrong but it's awful. Thanks. Bye.

Note the panic superlatives... "terribly", "horrible", "awful".

My return call to the client, prior to writing this message, netted -her-
answering machine. While waiting for a "live" person to gather more
details, I've had the following thoughts about questions and possible
remote tests. I'd like any other suggestions to consider for remote
diagnosis, because I really don't want to drive 300 miles round-trip to
extract a pencil! <g>

Information about the client/piano:
* 1961 S&S 'L' ;
* Has C/C system;
* Tuned every three months;
* Tuned and random single note voicing last week;
* Tuning is rock steady except for an occasional unison, at worst 3~5c
change across seasons, according to my records.
* Client is a teacher, and picky. Everything becomes an emergency (claims
tuning is bad when one unison has drifted... which is why I make sure the
tuning is steady).

Possible phone questions to client, based on phone message:
Q: When did this start?
Q: Is it constant, or intermittent?
Q: Can phenomenon be duplicated?
Q: Occurs with or without any pedal activity?
Q: Any lessons involving sostenuto work this past week? (See additional below]
Q: Which area (bass, treble, all) affected?
Q: Certain specific notes, or global?
Q: [your ideas?]

Possible suggestions for the client to try to isolate condition:
* Exercising shift (unacorda) pedal up and down about six times without
playing;
* Quickly and lightly drag (upside down) fingernail across strings a couple
octaves at a time;
* [your ideas?]

Possibly important:
Client has recently been teaching one or more advanced students a pedal
technique involving using ALL three pedals (holding down shift with left
foot, and diagonally reaching across to sostenuto... or something like
that. I can't personally get my feet in that position, but this sounds like
a potential area of trouble considering the S&S sostenuto system.

My thoughts, based on track record and condition of piano:
* Keyframe guide plate(s) worn, or have shifted (not likely);
* I left cheekblocks loose last week after minor voicing (NOT);
* Hammer spacing shifted (not likely);
* Damper is stuck on sostenuto tab; piano is ghosting;
* A pencil or other object really did get in soundboard area (never
happened before);
* Dampp-Chaser component vibrating (never happened before);
* Above-mentioned 3-pedal work, causing -something- to get
stuck/bent/misaligned... but what?

Whatever this turns out to be, it -will- be something simple. Thanks for
any ideas that I've not considered.




Jim Harvey, RPT
Greenwood, SC
harvey@greenwood.net
________________________
I'm glad it's not my piano!
              -- Richard Davenport (date unknown)