grand damper problem

[Marshall Connolly]

Hi John!
Your quandry reminds me of a yamaha grand I service in a nursing home.  I'd
first take the "brave" step of pulling the action and examining the keyframe
and keysticks from the back.... there's a lot more back there than just the
key-end felt which lifts them.  Is the climate dry and the possibility that
the key sticks have warped just enough to graze the next under lever?  Have
you marked the offending dampers (on the heads) and checked for bad pinning
or damaged flanges of the under-levers for the problematic notes?  Are they
wobbling? My particular situation was due to a very dry environment, and the
lead weights in the underlevers were "moving" out of the underlever, and
scraping/lifting the neighboring damper, as well.

These thoughts will hopefully help you 'troubleshoot' the problem, but there
are surely a few other potential reasons for this condition.  Does this
happen when the damper pedal is depressed--  is there even 'lift' when the
sustain is used, versus when playing one key to the next?  If so, move on
from there.  Though Lowrey pianos are marginal (and I am being 'somewhat'
kind) consider ALL possible reasons for the problem.... environment FIRST.
If you've marked the damper above, check for protruding lead, or excessive
wiggle in the underlever, etc.  It could be anything from a warped keystick,
bad pinning, broken flange, or traveling leads causing this condition.  Good
luck!  In 25 years, I've never encountered a Lowrey grand, but will be
interested in following your experiences with the piano.See what some of the
other folks on the list recommend.  We've got some very insightful people
sharing ideas here!!

All The Best!
Marshall Connolly, Jr.
Boston Chapter
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Cole" <johnspianotech at hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 7:48 AM
Subject: grand damper problem


> Hey, it's me again. A lady who knows I'm just learning piano technology
has
> offered to let me learn on her piano. She has a Lowrey grand. There is a
> problem with two keys on her piano. The G# above middle C lifts both its
> damper and the damper of the G beside it. The C two octaves above middle
> does the same thing with the B beside it. The G and B each only raise
their
> own dampers when played (no problem). The dampers are not touching above
the
> strings. The problem must be below. What could be the problem and how is
it
> fixed? Could it be simply the cushion under the G# and C damper
underlevers
> are sticking out and need back in place? Could it be something more than
> that? I have not pulled the action yet to look. This would be the first
time
> I've pulled a grand action.
>
> John Cole
>
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