[pianotech] Sound from strings

[Stéphane Collin]

Hello Renee.

If I understand you well, the issue is the sound produced by the lifting of
the right pedal on the piano, which in a studio is emphasized by the usual
place where the sound technicians put their microphones.
My understanding is that this sound comes mainly from the W shaped damper
felts who rub against the strings when they are lifted.  This is why older
pianos don't have this problem, as they have smaller dampers and some have
flat damper felts, who don't cause the objectionable sound, even on the bass
strings.
One way to cure the issue is to show the pianist that there is no need to
push hard and fast on the right pedal to make it function properly.  Of
course, the harder, quicker the foot movement, the more loud the annoying
sound.  In this regard, I like to regulate the right pedal stop so it does
just what is wanted from it (release the strings) but no more, so the
pianist gets another sense of precision when depressing the pedal, and
avoids intuitively the too enthusiastic movements of his foot.
The other way is to "voice" the W dampers felt so the rubbing of those
against the strings is less audible.
You'll notice the annoyance is higher with longer pianos, and with more
compressed W felts who burry farther into the trichords.
Of course, there is a third way to cure more drastically : replace the W
shaped felts by flat ones.  The drawback is that they damp less well.  Or
should I only say less ?  Because I myself like to play with the after ring
of a piano, which in some cases can be of real (I mean real) aesthetical
value.

Best regards.

Stephane Collin.




-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Renee Ingeberg
Sent: mardi 31 mars 2009 11:23
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Sound from strings


I wrote some days ago about the sound coming from the strings in a  
grand piano, after the sustain pedal is depressed. The question came  
from a customer in one of the studios where I tune. I have heard, from  
a very good technician here that putting microphones under the grand  
can be a solution but that is another subject...
I have noticed that the amount of sound coming from any instrument  
varies in this respect and there can be a substantial amount of noise  
coming from new instruments.  I tuned a new grand the other day and  
there was more sound coming from the strings, when the pedal is  
lifted, than from an old grand, for example. So I am wondering what  
the cause of this could be.  Any suggestions are welcome.

In the latest Journal, there were some really good articles on aural  
tuning. I especially liked the mention of creativity, being in contact  
with the piano and 'coloring'. Over the years and tuning all sorts of  
pianos, it's really a matter of trying to 'conceal' or cover up the  
inconsistencies and making the best possible result.

Renee