* Re: RE: RE : Sudden damper buzz syndrome

[Geoff Sykes]

All of your suggested possibilities are, in fact, part of this pianos
history. I know that the piano had a lot of action work done on it not that
long ago, (not by me), but I don't believe the dampers were part of that
work. Your suggestions about full repair and cleaning are good ones and,
depending upon what I find and how successful the fix is, I plan on taking
that up with the customer. Good point on checking the pedal adjustment
anyway. I will. 

-- Geoff Sykes
-- Assoc. Los Angeles


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of J Patrick Draine
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 7:40 AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: * Re: RE: RE : Sudden damper buzz syndrome


OK, near LA and not too far from the ocean, it's quite possible that salty
air + air pollution could have conributed to the dampers getting hardened
and crusty. How old is the piano -- has it been in this semi-controlled
studio environment for its entire "lifetime"? Or spent its first ten years
overlooking the ocean with open windows? Whie it seems (sitting here at my
computer) that removing the dampers and very lightly brushing the contact
surface with a soft toothbrush or very fine grit sandpaper file is a valid
technique to get rid of the zings, you should consider that you might want
to give the customer the options between a "full repair" (cleaning the plain
wire of any rust or tarnish at the contact point area AND replacing the full
set of damper felts), and this far less expensive procedure. In my
experience, customers often suddenly hear "all sorts of noises" after a
piano is "just tuned". Especially if it's a recording studio or venue! Which
is a good reason for us to point out  these imperfections either before we
start tuning, or at least before we leave ( and an estimated cost of the
repair, voicing, regulation,
etc.) . Yes, it is difficult for us to do all that in the context of "I just
want it tuned" appointments, but that's how we can best approach 100%
customer satisfaction. BTW, Marcel's suggestion regarding the pedal
adjustments still stands
-- just because you didn't touch it doesn't mean it may not be part of the
problem! Good luck! Patrick Draine

On 11/19/06, Geoff Sykes <thetuner at ivories52.com> wrote:
>
>
> Marcel --
>
> Nope. Didn't touch the sustain pedal adjustment.