>> Yep, it's arbitrary. And I check with the dampers down in all cases. I >> notice that sustain is often tested with the dampers down before teardown, >> and up after stringing, demonstrating the difference rebuilding made. > >Smile when you say that. :) > > Newton Newton, I was cackling like a maniac. Couldn't you tell? <G> And I neglected to mention another thing. Sustain isn't the only criteria, or maybe even the best. I test a firm blow in all areas to check for different things in different areas of the scale. In the killer octave, I don't want to hear that "blown speaker" attack distortion that goes with the short sustain, since the sustain can be affected by the front duplex to in that area too. I listen to people tentatively trying out a piano and commenting on how clear and sweet it sounds, when a blow commensurate with tuning or aggressive playing in that killer octave falls apart in a sort of blaaatttt. I don't think you should be able to over drive a board like that within reasonably normal play levels, and the worse the board, the lower the attack level that produced that sound. Ron N
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