damper pedal problem

[Tom Driscoll]

From: "Maggie Jusiel" Subject: damper pedal problem


> Hello All,
>
>   A couple of weeks ago, I tuned a Yamaha baby grand that's about 5 years
> old.  I didn't notice any obvious problems.  Today, they asked me to
> check a problem that has supposedly never happend before.  When the
> damper pedal is pushed, the action slides over so far that the hammers
> catch a string from the next set.  I honestly didn't know why this was
> happening "all of the sudden", so I simply put in a piece of felt as a
> spacer/stopper until I learned something better to do.  It worked fine,
> but I'd sure like to know what happened in the first place.  BTW, the
> hammers appear to be aligned properly...?
>
> Any thoughts?
> mags

Maggie,
    I'm a bit confused here----


> "When the damper pedal is pushed, the action slides over so far that the
hammers
> catch a string from the next set. ">

    Do you mean the una chorda pedal ?
    I'm having trouble envisioning the    " damper pedal" or more
appropriatly called the sustain pedal, making the action shift in any
scenario..
    The pitman lifts a tray that lifts the dampers.If the keyframe is moving
something is really wacky!

    If you mean that the una-chorda ---that is the  pedal on the left , is
moving the frame too far, I suspect the problem was there before you
serviced the piano.
    A client will play more- listen more-  try more pieces after a tuning
and assume any irregularity was the tuners fault.

    " It was fine before you tuned it"   Even they hadn't played in a year.

    As to the correct fix --Either adjust the screw on the frame that
engages the cheek block or adjust the screw on the cheek that limits the
frame travel (usually there is a leather pad to isolate either one of these
screws from the frame or cheek.
    There are a few other systems used , but all are relatively simple.
    To quote Yogi again  "You can observe a lot by looking"
    Remove the fall board and treble cheek ,you'll see the answer


    Best of luck

    Tom Driscoll RPT
>