In a message dated 10/19/98 2:23:21 PM Central Daylight Time, atodd@UH.EDU writes: << > I am wanting to buy a 6' Grand Piano for my daughter, but most of the >>ones I hear in the stores have a "twanging" harmonic type noise around >the E, >F, & G keys just to the left of middle C. Why do 15-20 thousand >dollar pianos >have this noise? Can it be fixed? Is this something that is >just ignored? I'm >getting frustrated because it seems that the >salespeople don't want to admit >that they hear it. Are you familiar with >this problem? Thanks. >> I'm surprised that no one has picked up on the obvious solution: thorough dealer preparation. There have been offers to sell the customer another piano or to redesign the piano in question. Offering another piano does not answer the question and to suggest that the piano be remanufactured is impractical. It is very common for the dealer to ignore preparation requirements. When I was just starting out, the crusty old man that ran the piano store constantly repeated to me, "Justoon'em. An' don't try to get'em too perfect neither. Nine outta ten people don't know no difference no how". So, the person who suggested that many sales people might not notice the problem is probably right. Many customers might not either but this one did and that is what is important. For the total money involved, the dealer ought to be able to pay a fair price to have the piano well prepared. Del wrote about the scale design of the low tenor. I suspect however that the complaint is about the wound string portion of the low end of the tenor bridge. The most obvious thing to look for are faulty wound strings. Are they "buzzy"? If so, will a twist (in the proper direction) cure that? If not, they can be replaced under warranty. Next, are all the hammer flange screws really tight? This is the most overlooked aspect of preparation and maintenance there is. If they are loose, you will get some distortion of the tone. Also, is the hammer flange pinning too loose? same story. Many of these Asian pianos have had their hammers liberally treated with hardener. Some say that the Asians have a different idea of what good tone is than we do and that they really load on the hardener to get what they like. Perhaps, in the noisy environment of the factory, a very bright tone seems to cut through better. Maybe the tone was good in the factory but after curing for e few months, it went ballistic. If the hammers are hardened this badly, needling is very difficult. In such situations, I have used Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol from the drugstore, 75¢ a pint) and found it to be very effective. Sometimes, I would let the alcohol soften the hammers enough so that I could needle effectively. The alcohol and/or water on hammers subject created a long thread a while back. All I can say is that it has worked for me in such situations. There are many variations of this technique. If this portion of the scale has thick, plain wire, voicing the hammers down more than usual is one of the few things that can be done. It will tend to hide the harsh, brassy tone of the heavy gauge wire. You can also fudge the regulation a bit too. Giving the key a bit less power will impart less energy to those strings so they won't be so loud. Don't forget to check all the other screws that are found on the action and that hold the case together. Is there a continuous hinge for the lid and fallboard? If there are stripped or loose screws, the hinge pin can vibrate. If this is a pervasive problem in the piano, the warranty should cover it. Case parts, the lid prop and the trapwork can all rattle or buzz. It is entirely possible that all of the above may be present. You won't eliminate all of the offensive sounds until you track them all down and correct each problem individually. Last, but not least, I have to find *some* way to tie Historical Temperaments (HT) into *every* post, now, don't I. (You knew I would, didn't you!) An HT will not eliminate any buzzes but what a well-chosen one can do is make chords played across the 3rd and 4th octaves sound much more palatable. Many practitioners of the Ht's have noticed that the HT's "eat" poor scales. By that it is meant that you can actually create a good amount of smooth, quiet harmony and avoid a lot of harshness. Give me the Wurlitzer, Whitney and Acrosonic spinets and I'll give you the sweetest tuning you've ever heard on them. While many others are condemning in frustration these instruments for not accepting perfectly smooth 3rds across the break, I create a sound on which I enjoy playing and singing a song for the customer afterwards. Many customers remark to me that *no one* has ever made their dear little piano sound so good. It puts money in my pocket and keeps me very, very busy. Regards, Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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