Steinway damper "thump"

dempsey@MARSHALL.EDU dempsey@MARSHALL.EDU
Fri May 15 07:05 MDT 1998


I recently was called to tune a 10 year old Steinway "L". Although the
piano is in excellent shape otherwise, it does have a very loud "thump" at
the end of the pedal release.Damping is fine, trapwork regulation is fine
as well. The felts are pristeen, although when I return I am going to
spend some time trying to soften the felt a little to see if that helps.

The thump is definitly being caused by all the dampers seating at
precisely the same instant.(both front and rear). Shouldn't the dampers
lift just slightly tilted front to back(back side lifting first)?

The owner says that this thump has always been there.Of course, any grand
damper set will make noise on a rapid release of the pedal but this is
REALLY loud. To make matters worse, the piano is in a large open room,
hardwood floors, NO furniture or drapes and 12 foot ceilings. 
Any thoughts,tips, suggestions?


Paul E. Dempsey, RPT
Piano Tuner Technician
Marshall University Music Dep't
Marshall Univeristy



This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC