ghosts

[Clyde Hollinger]

Friends,

While tuning a little 1959 Janssen console today I found that when I
depressed the sustain pedal I would get all these little ghostly tones
as the dampers came off the strings.  A few of them showed obvious signs
of some type of contamination, brownish stuff.

On a whim I depressed the pedal, chose on of the worst offenders and
just lightly caressed the top edge with my finger.  Then I depressed the
pedal again and the ghost tone was gone!  It took about a minute to do
all the flat dampers, and they were as quiet as new!  So how long do you
think this will last?  Not long, I think, but can anyone explain what
actually happened here?  No rubbing, sanding, or anything beyond the
slight touch.

But the bass dampers still sing.  I couldn't do anything with them
today.  Replacing them would be best, I know.

Regards,  Clyde