voicing

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@KSCABLE.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: February 20, 2002 4:37 AM
Subject: Re: voiceing


> .... That low tenor woof is likely string scaling. Low tensions (%
> of breaking tension) in the wire trichords will give that hollow sound,
> while the wrapped strings just below are at a higher %break, and sound
much
> better.

Or, more likely, a combination of scaling and an overly flexible
soundboard/bridge system through this area. It's the end of the bridge and
it has much more mobility than the region just above. Before doing major
surgery to the hammers you might try mass-loading the end of the bridge just
a bit. If there is a convenient soundboard button available at the back of
the soundboard at the end of the bridge, take the screw out and attach a 100
gram (more-or-less) brass weight and see if that helps. It probably will. If
not, you can easily remove it.

For a quick and dirty test to see if this might help, you can clip a small
visegrip to the back row of bridge pins at the lowest unison. It's not quite
the same, but it's close.


>
> I don't know of any hammer voicing tricks to make this go away.
> I've managed some apparent improvements with the usual brushing, steaming,
> or needling, but it is never really satisfactory to me. Super hard hammers
> don't help this much either.

They usually make the problem worse by exciting more of the higher partials,
the energy of which is more easily transfered through the overly flexible
bridge/soundboard system where it is rapidly dissipated giving a percussive,
hollow sound of short sustain. The added mass mentioned above helps to slow
this process.


>
> I usually start with a light brushing with a
> small brass bristle brush to try to hear past the clang and see what I
have
> to work with. Sometimes just the brushing helps enough to get me off the
> hook. Sometimes not. Some techs are very good at temporarily disguising
> scale and soundboard design problems with voicing, but I never was.

Nor I.

Del