a "stringy" sound; voicing or strings qualty

[William R. Monroe]

Julia,

New dampers will look (act) the same (if they are provided by Kawai).  I
don't know if this could be considered warranty or not, but I suspect not.
I don't think there is necessarily anything wrong with the dampers from a
manufacturing perspective, they are just noisy.  You might check with Don
Mannino, anyway.

A couple of things to try:

1.  light ironing of the damper felts can sometimes alleviate some of the
noise.  Not my chosen method, however.

2. (my preferred)  Trim the dampers.
I learned this in a class by Richard Davenport, RPT.  It has earned me some
extra work and many thanks for quieting down the damper "whang."

Basically, Richard asserts that there is never a need for any damper felt to
extend below about the halfway point on the string.  The trimming process is
done in steps, removing one damper at a time, and getting it right before
you move on to the next.  First you make one cut to get the length of the
felt proper (not extending below the string).  By doing so, however, you now
have a (roughly) square cut at the bottom of the felt.  So, second, you make
a lighter trim of each of these "corners."  Results in a much quieter
operation.

This technique is not for the faint of heart, though.  If you fail to make
very even level cuts, you will have all kinds of damping problems, which may
lead you to have to replace some felt, which you will have to trim, which
you may have to replace, which.........DAMHIK!!

Let me know if you need further clarification/info.  I'd be happy to help

Respectfully,
William R. Monroe




  ----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Alpha88x@aol.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 8:02 PM
Subject: Re: a "stringy" sound; voicing or strings qualty


> Greetings,
>
>             Thats probably what it is. How is it remedied? New dampers?
>
> Julia
> Reading, PA
>
>  In a message dated 4/1/05 12:00:03 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> pianotech@a440piano.net writes:
>
> > Julia,
> >
> > I would check the damper felts for noise when they lift.  This is a very
> > common issue with Kawai grands that I see.  The felts are just too darn
> > long, extending well below the string line, and, consequently create a
lot
> > of noise when lifting.  See if that's not the case.  Try "playing" notes
> > with a mp type motion, but stop before the hammer hits the strings,
listen
> > for the individual damper swishing the strings.  Alternately (also) try
> > depressing the sustain pedal, and listen to the grand whoosh that these
> > dampers likely will make.  See if that's not what ails her.
> >
> > Respectfully,
> > William R. Monroe
> >
>
>