[pianotech] Sound from strings

[Renee Ingeberg]

Hello Stephane

Thank you and everyone else for all the suggestions.



On Mar 31, 2009, at 6:57 PM, Stéphane Collin wrote:

> Hello Renee.
>
> If I understand you well, the issue is the sound produced by the  
> lifting of
> the right pedal on the piano, which in a studio is emphasized by the  
> usual
> place where the sound technicians put their microphones.
> My understanding is that this sound comes mainly from the W shaped  
> damper
> felts who rub against the strings when they are lifted.  This is why  
> older
> pianos don't have this problem, as they have smaller dampers and  
> some have
> flat damper felts, who don't cause the objectionable sound, even on  
> the bass
> strings.
> One way to cure the issue is to show the pianist that there is no  
> need to
> push hard and fast on the right pedal to make it function properly.   
> Of
> course, the harder, quicker the foot movement, the more loud the  
> annoying
> sound.  In this regard, I like to regulate the right pedal stop so  
> it does
> just what is wanted from it (release the strings) but no more, so the
> pianist gets another sense of precision when depressing the pedal, and
> avoids intuitively the too enthusiastic movements of his foot.
> The other way is to "voice" the W dampers felt so the rubbing of those
> against the strings is less audible.
> You'll notice the annoyance is higher with longer pianos, and with  
> more
> compressed W felts who burry farther into the trichords.
> Of course, there is a third way to cure more drastically : replace  
> the W
> shaped felts by flat ones.  The drawback is that they damp less  
> well.  Or
> should I only say less ?  Because I myself like to play with the  
> after ring
> of a piano, which in some cases can be of real (I mean real)  
> aesthetical
> value.
>
> Best regards.
>
> Stephane Collin.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org]  
> On Behalf
> Of Renee Ingeberg
> Sent: mardi 31 mars 2009 11:23
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: [pianotech] Sound from strings
>
>
> I wrote some days ago about the sound coming from the strings in a
> grand piano, after the sustain pedal is depressed. The question came
> from a customer in one of the studios where I tune. I have heard, from
> a very good technician here that putting microphones under the grand
> can be a solution but that is another subject...
> I have noticed that the amount of sound coming from any instrument
> varies in this respect and there can be a substantial amount of noise
> coming from new instruments.  I tuned a new grand the other day and
> there was more sound coming from the strings, when the pedal is
> lifted, than from an old grand, for example. So I am wondering what
> the cause of this could be.  Any suggestions are welcome.
>
> In the latest Journal, there were some really good articles on aural
> tuning. I especially liked the mention of creativity, being in contact
> with the piano and 'coloring'. Over the years and tuning all sorts of
> pianos, it's really a matter of trying to 'conceal' or cover up the
> inconsistencies and making the best possible result.
>
> Renee
>
>
>
>
>