Steinway damper to string noise

[Kent Swafford]

on 5/11/00 8:17 PM, ARTHUR CHICKERING at chikring@midcoast.com wrote:

> List,
> 
> Yesterday I came across a problem on a Steinway (M) 1926 that I was tuning for
> the first time.  The customer asked if I could take care of the loud booming
> noise when the sustain pedal was released quickly after being depressed.  This
> was caused by the dampers dropping on the strings all at once.  I regulated
> the sustain pedal to remove any extra lost motion.  It did help but did not
> totally solve the problem.  It is quite annoying as it sounds almost like
> someone playing a bass drum with a big soft drum beater.  It is quite loud.
> I was wondering if there is something I am overlooking as a solution to this
> problem.  Any solutions you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Arthur Chickering
> Rockland, ME.

This is a relatively common problem, particularly in recording studios where
the engineers cringe at the bass drum sound coming from the Steinway.
Steinway damper felt tends to be dense, and perhaps the dampers on this
particular piano for one reason or another have hardened even a bit more. A
new set of damper felts would very likely solve the problem. (I like
Steinway felts but some techs use softer Yamaha felts on Steinways with good
results.)

Kent Swafford