<DIV>take a look at the following web site <A href="http://www.pitchlock.com">www.pitchlock.com</A>. I saw Scott do a demo at a PTG metting and they really worked.No change in tone.I have tried them on a S&S D worked GREAT Barbara Richmond <piano57@flash.net> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"> <META content=Word.Document name=ProgId> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2180" name=GENERATOR> <META content="Microsoft Word 9" name=Originator><LINK href="cid:filelist.xml@01C4A46D.88DAD5D0" rel=File-List> <STYLE>@font-face { font-family: Bradley Hand ITC; } @page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin: 1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin: .5in; mso-footer-margin: .5in; mso-paper-source: 0; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } P.MsoAutoSig { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoAutoSig { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoAutoSig { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } SPAN.EmailStyle15 { COLOR: navy; mso-style-type: personal-reply; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } </STYLE> <DIV>Hmmm.  I worked for a Kawai dealer for six years and was quite successful at getting plenty of sustain.  It's true that the pianos came out of the box sounding pretty clipped, but working on the shoulders lengthened the sustain and a bit at the top softened the attack to make a real nice sound.   I'll admit that was 1984-1990.  Have the pianos or hammers changed a lot since then?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My experience with noise in the front duplex (no matter what brand) has almost always been (actually, I can't remember a time when it wasn't) the result of  hammers with that "granite sound."  Taking the attack down a hair has done the trick.  Now that I've said that publicly, I'll probably run into a piano where voicing doesn't take care of the problem.  ;-)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Barbara Richmond, RPT</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black">From: <A title=deanmay@pianorebuilders.com href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com">Dean May</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">To: <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 8:39 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Subject: RE: Boston front scale noise</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV class=Section1> Mike B. wrote:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> He called me a couple of days after the tuning and complained that when he plays middle c and holds it for a long time the sound becomes "discordant".<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> Hi Mike,<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> I find this to be characteristic of many Kawai pianos. And I’ve seen it on the few Bostons I’ve played as well. Play and hold most any treble note and the sustain of the pitch will quickly fade into white noise. You’ll still hear sound but you won’t be able to easily discern the pitch of the note you just played. Try running an arpeggio all the way up the scale and you find the same thing. The sustain quickly fades into white noise and the you’ll have a hard time discerning what scale you just played. <o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> If you dampen the front scale noise on that piano you are going to be making a major change in the tonal characteristics of it, a change the customer may not like. <o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> I would explain to the customer that what he is doing is not the normal way one plays and listens to a piano. There are lots of extraneous noises one can find and accentuate in a piano that are undesirable. He picked that piano because he liked the way it played and sounded. The characteristic he is complaining about is part of the overall characteristics of that piano’s particular sound that he picked. It is a characteristic of Asian pianos, Kawai in particular, to have a quick attack and short sustain. There’s nothing you can do about it (beyond normal seating/leveling of strings and voicing) short of major soundboard reconstruction and scale redesign. He should just play it normally and enjoy it for what it is.<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> Blessings,<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> Dean<o:p></o:p> Dean May             cell 812.239.3359<o:p></o:p> PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272<o:p></o:p> Terre Haute IN  47802<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>