Steinway damper "thump"

[Ed Guerra]

Paul: Check to see if the spring under the damper lift tray is missing.  If
it is missing some times this will cause the dampers to drop faster.   



At 09:03 AM 5/15/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>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
>
>
Ed Guerra
edguerra@mail.utexas.edu
Austin, TX