L.O.S.S.

[Jon Page]

At 10:44 PM 10/6/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>Why is it that some strings on a piano exhibit Lack Of Sustain Syndrome?  I
>prep new pianos at a local dealer and I find that there are unisons in the
>treble (octave 5 or 6) that have notably less sustain than their neighbors.
>I'll be tuning along, each note singing, DINNNNNN, DINNNNNN, and then I come
>to its neighbor, DINK.
>
>There are some things we can eliminate, like the damper not lifting, or the
>hammer double striking or blocking against the string.  These pianos have
>been regulated from square one (key height and dip).  The strings have been
>seated to the bridge and there are no false beats whatsoever.  It's not my
>unison tuning because it can be heard in the individual strings of the
>unison.  They are also NOT low quality Asian imports.
>
>If anyone has an idea, I'd be interested to understand why one perfectly good
>brand new string vibrates better than the one right next to it.
>
>Tom Sivak
>
>P.S.
>It's most noticeable from playing the 3 string unisons

I notice this when new sets of hammers are installed. I find that needling 
the hammer will open up
the sound and produce a better sustain, some notes need more attention than 
others.

On Abel hammers, needling parallel to the molding does wonders as the 
initial step.


Regards,

Jon Page,   piano technician
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.
mailto:jonpage@attbi.com
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