echoes in schidmayer upright

[oren bendor]

Dear all,

I am an owner and player of a schiemayer upright,
obligque strung underdamped piano.  It was made in
1885 by J. and P. Schiemayer and has a highly
decorated ebonised case.  It has alledgely been the
piano of the Irish Composer Sir Hamilton Harty. The
piano has been fully restored in an excellent manner. 
In the process the soundboard was repaired,
restringing and repinning and the action has been
completely rebuilt including hammers, new damperfelts
and springs.  The tone and touch of the piano are
quite magnificent and after the restoration it is much
richer, dynamic and powerful.  The problem is that
there is a residual echo in it.  Even when I talk near
it when the piano is closed it reverberates.  This is
annoying given the excellent tone.  Whenever I move
from loud play into pianissimo the echo annoys. The
restorer maintains that as a matter of design the
dampers are perhaps too small and too high up so there
are still live strings although the damping system
operates as best it can.

As this is the "missing bit" and whichis nagging, I
would appreciate any advice from anyone who had that
experience before.  My gut feeling is that for such a
supremely constructed piano there should be no
residual echo left or if there is should me very
minimal indeed.

thank you all in advance

Oren 

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