[CAUT] from piano technician,Thailand

[Fred Sturm]

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On 12/18/05 10:40 PM, "Timur Rizayev" <timur.daniel@gmail.com> wrote:

> Good day. Congratulations All Marry Christmas and New Year.
> I'm Timur Rizayev piano technician of College of Music, Mahidol
> University,Thailand. In New University Auditorium has the new Concert Gra=
nds
> "Yamaha" CHIII S, "Steinway & sons" D and "Fazioli"-278. Last Friday and
> Saturday had the Concert"Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra" with Guest
> Conductor: Claude Villaret and Guest Soloist: Patricia Pagny. She played =
on
> the Concert Grand "Yamaha" . I determined the some stick out tones in hig=
h
> treble. I suspect the not so good terminated wild strings. I will be try =
to
> eliminate those with checking Action Regulating and Voicing. Can somebody
> suggest, where I can find the Action regulating Manual and Voicing Instru=
ction
> for Concert "Yamaha" CHIII S. Or it is similar to the "Voicing the Renner
> Hammer" By Rick L.Baldassin. Because I have the several concerts in Decem=
ber
> and next January with TPO, our Professors and Guests.
>=20
> Thank you in advance
> with wishing all best
> Timur Rizayev
> Thailand =20
>=20
Hi Timur,
    If you are correct that you have =B3wild strings=B2 caused by bad
termination, it would be best to improve the termination. First, check to
see if the false beats or wildness is caused by a loose bridge pin. With th=
e
other strings of the unison muted, play the note while holding a solid
object against the bridge pin. I use the end of my tuning hammer. Or a heav=
y
screwdriver blade. Press straight down, and then press toward the treble an=
d
toward the bass. If you are able to make the false beat or wildness
disappear doing one of these things, the bridge pin is loose. In my opinion=
,
the best cure is to apply a small amount of thin CA glue to the base of the
pin, on the bridge top, in the corner between the string and the pin. Apply
carefully, so it doesn=B9t run all over =AD just a tiny drop. Blowing on it wil=
l
help set the glue faster, but in any case it may take a few minutes to have
an effect. Sometimes a second application is needed. Another possibility is
to tap down the bridge pin. This will often help, but usually isn=B9t
permanent. I prefer to apply CA.
    Sometimes there is a termination problem on the capo side, caused by a
little metal shaving or some rust, but this is not too common with Yamahas.
You can find out by pressing a screwdriver blade on the string ahead of the
capo and playing the note. If the objectionable sound disappears, and comes
back when you remove the screwdriver blade, then this is where the problem
is. You can usually eliminate the noise by shifting the string along the
capo in each direction. I like to do this by getting a screwdriver blade
into the gap between the capo and the string, on the tuning pin side, with =
a
corner of the blade on the string I want to shift. Then I twist the blade,
prying the string downward and to the side. It=B9s easier to show than to
describe. With this method, you can move the string a tiny amount in each
direction, sliding it along the capo, which should move the rust or shaving
off to one side. Putting a blade against the string from the top and tappin=
g
to one side and the other will work also, but I think it may cause more wea=
r
to the capo, and create more tiny metal shavings.
    It may also be that there are other causes for the sound that is
objectionable. The most likely is strings that are unlevel and/or not mated
to the hammer surface. To find out, press the hammer against the string (yo=
u
can pull it up using a hook which has grabbed the shank, but it is better t=
o
push up from below, pushing up on the wippen while keeping the jack from
tripping. One good way is to put a strip of thin cloth between the
jacks/repetitions and the knuckles, and then sliding the action and keys
back in the piano. so that you can make the hammers block on the strings by
pressing on the keys). With the hammer pressed against the string =AD not
pressed really hard, but solidly =AD pluck each string with a sharpened
hammershank or a piece of music wire. If one of them is =B3open=B2 (not muted b=
y
the hammer felt), that means it is higher than the others. You probably
can=B9t make it go down, so you will have to pull the other strings up to the
same level, using a string hook, pulling up on the string right in front of
the capo.=20
    You can make a string hook for this using a dowel and a piece of music
wire. Make a short, sharp bend in the end of the wire. Then wrap the other
end of the wire around the dowel two times and then around the wire =AD like
you are making a hitch pin loop for a treble string on a Steinway (I don=B9t
remember off hand if the Yamaha concert grand has one).
    The other way is to mate the hammer to the string, by sanding a bit of
felt from the hammer where it meets the low strings.
    Probably these procedures are described in Baldassin=B9s booklet. The
sound of a badly mated hammer =AD where there is one or more open string when
the hammer is pressed against the string =AD has a kind of metallic zing in
it, which will make that note sound different from its neighbors. The
voicing procedures described by Baldassin are very similar to the ones used
by Yamaha technicians. It could be that, in some cases, sticking needles in
some of the hammers is what is needed.
    I hope this is of some help. It sounds like you have a busy concert
schedule!=20
Best wishes,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico




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