On a related note, I had a ukranian concert pianist complain that some of the dampers in the bass section of an S&S D worked too well. I timmed the length of the felt on the too efficient notes and she was happy. Uniformity is ,of course, key in everything we do as techs. This artist wanted a somewhat delayed shut off. I think she would have had an issue even if all the dampers were super efficient. Phil Frankenberg CSUChico Chico Ca. ----- Original Message ----- From: David Love To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 2:39 PM Subject: Re: [pianotech] Replacing dampers -- general comment You first recognize that the goal in damper "voicing" is for uniform shut off which doesn't always mean the fastest shut off. You compare adjacent notes much like you would with voicing the hammers and adjust so that the shut off is the same from note to note. You listen carefully at different speeds of release of the key and pedal. Unlike voicing hammers where you vary the pressing down of the key, with dampers you vary the letting up of the keys. Problems aren't always that you don't have things shutting off well enough, you can have notes that shut off too well, better than their neighbors, and sometimes the remedy is not to get the others to shut off more quickly but to get the one that shuts off too quickly to shut off more slowly. Like anything else, first you have to be aware of it and learn to listen for it. It probably begins with level strings and finely graduated underlever weighting, damper timing both with the pedal and the key. Also important is the selection of felt types and lengths, deciding where the double trichord splits end and the trichord/flat combinations begin and then where the trichord splits end altogether and the flats take over. Also, being aware of the crossover section between bichord bass and trichord tenor and how the length of the pieces impacts shut off at those points. Other considerations are the "string thing" (placing string between the trichord splits). Is it really necessary? It isn't actually, but there's a tendency to do it because it gets quick and efficient shut off. As an alternative you can simply massage the split with a thin piece of metal, like a six inch metal ruler, gauging just how much you need to massage to get the felt in the position you want (felt, fortunately has memory) and the speed of shutoff you want. Additionally, you make sure that the bends are correct and that the dampers actually rise straight up off the strings and not to one side or the other and most importantly that the movement is uniform. Adjust front to back tilting. All these things you do while listening and deciding on the need for correction, just like voicing hammers, and just like voicing hammers there are many possible things that can affect the quality of the damper voice. That's a start anyway. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Encore Pianos Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 1:20 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Replacing dampers -- general comment Ok, David, you've got me. How do you "voice" the dampers, above and beyond seating and adjusted for the best shut off? What kinds of things do you do to achieve that? Will Truitt From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Love Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 3:38 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Replacing dampers -- general comment Maybe the bigger question is what constitutes improved performance. While there's a tendency to think of improved performance as faster shut off it isn't necessarily. In fact, a shut off which is too efficient can make the piano sound a bit dry. Also, getting faster shutoff usually means heavier underlevers or springs and that can have a negative impact on the difference between playing with the pedal engaged versus not. Defining what is acceptable in terms of the speed of shut off isn't always that easy but I think, assuming shut off happens within a reasonable time, that the more important thing is that the shut of is uniform from note to note or at least graduates smoothly through the scale. For that some "voicing" of the dampers is always required not just with getting the dampers seated and things completely shut off but with attention to the speed of shut off between adjacent notes. That particular aspect of voicing the piano often gets by people, even those who set very high standards in other areas. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com Consider the tiny little dampers even on concert grands of 100 or so years ago (not to mention square pianos!). It would appear that damping efficiency was not a great priority back then. Of course, we can significantly improve damping efficiency fairly easily, today. As with any design change, consideration must be given to preserving the original design vs. improving performance. I am generally inclined to improve performance unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. Frank Emerson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110209/095ab1a4/attachment.htm>
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