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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Phil,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>There are two general strategies for =
muting sound,
corresponding to two different sorts of sound routes:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you're trying to mute REFLECTING =
sound, foam
works great -- especially the slightly crunchy egg-crate stuff that I =
presume
Isaac is talking about. This foam is effective when rigidly =
mounted
against a rigid surface (like a wall). Acoustic energy is =
dissipated as
the sound waves pass through the pores in the foam, which create =
turbulent
airflow. However, if the foam is unsupported, sound will vibrate =
the foam,
which will vibrate the air on the other side. Thus, it doesn't =
work as
well as a sound barrier.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you're trying to block PASSING =
sound, you need
some sort of immovable barrier. You need something solid with a =
bit of
mass to it. The sound will hit it and will reflect back, rather =
than
passing through (and vibrating the air on the other side. This =
subject has
come up before, and a very nice solution that someone proposed was a =
drop-down
lid for the bottom of the piano. The idea would be to bottle up =
the sound
with both the top and bottom lids closed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The effectiveness of either lid would =
be enhanced
by damping reflectance by lining the lid with reflectance =
attenuating foam
(the stiff egg crate stuff). It would be enhanced further by =
achieving an
air-tight seal with weather stripping. Some of the adhesive-backed =
weather
stripping (Frost King?) has very weak/gentle adhesive. I =
know,
because it's falling off of my windows right now. =
(@#$%!)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Vibration isolation from the floor is =
another
important factor. Somewhere in the archives, there's a thread =
about a
church piano that's too loud. Someone suggested a caster cup =
especially
made to isolate vibration transmission to the floor. It looked =
like a nice
solution.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Still another solution might be to set =
the letoff
at 1/4" or more, so that at the lowest volume levels the hammers don't =
touch the
strings at all. Then hide stereo speakers under the piano, playing =
piano
music. The lid can be kept up, so that the piano looks =
pretty. Very
sadly, most people won't realize that the key movement in no way =
corresponds to
the music being played. I'm saying this with my tongue slightly in =
my
cheek, but I'm almost serious!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Good luck!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peace,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.graphic-fusion.com">www.graphic-fusion.com</A></FONT><=
/DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mortier@netreach.net =
href="mailto:mortier@netreach.net">Philip
Jamison</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 13, 2005 =
7:03
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Quiet The =
PianoDisc!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have one of those PianoDisc =
customers who wants
the piano to play REALLY quietly. Unfortunately, it's a bright =
YAMAHA G1
in a really bouncy room with an 18' ceiling. I'm thinking of stuffing =
some
carpet pad above the beams, padding the caster cups and maybe voicing =
down the
hammers. Would string felt help? Any other ideas? It's a new PianoCD =
unit
which adjusts to quite a low volume, but she wants it REAL
low!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Philip Jamison Pianos</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>West Chester,
PA</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>