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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tom,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I had this problem once and it turned =
out to be
reverberation in the paneled room. Just something to keep in =
mind.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Norm Barrett</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Memphis Chapter</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Tvak@aol.com href="mailto:Tvak@aol.com">Tvak@aol.com</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> Tuesday, November 30, =
2004 9:33
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> damper problem =
(probably just
stupidity on my part)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva =
color=#000000
size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">List<BR><BR>I don't think anyone can =
help me with
this, but here goes...<BR><BR>I replaced the damper felts on an =
Acrosonic
spinet. My initial diagnosis and decision to replace the damper =
felts
was based on the familiar sound of ringing after notes were =
played. I
did notice that the spoons were lifting most of the dampers very =
early,
preventing some of the dampers from having good contact pressure with =
the
string, but I found a few that were OK and when I checked them, they =
didn't
dampen very well, either, so I decided that the felt (which was =
original to
this 1940s piano) needed replacing. It was my hope that the =
additional
height from the new felt would remedy the spoon lift timing, but if =
not I was
ready to regulate those suckers, too.<BR><BR>When I put the action =
back in the
piano I found that the dampening is not much better. But
why?<BR> 1. There is follow through on all the =
dampers. (In case I'm not clear, I mean that the damper
will<BR> move with =
the string
when the string is pressed toward the soundboard, indicating that
there <BR>
is proper pressure for the damper to dampen =
the
string.)<BR> 2. The spoons are indeed lifting =
at the
proper time, and so they are not impeding the damper levers from =
pressing
=
against the strings. (There is follow through.)
<BR> 3. The damper pedal is not holding the =
dampers
away from the strings. (Again, there is follow
<BR>
through.)<BR> 4. The dampers are seated well =
on the
strings. It's not a string level issue. (It's not one of
the<BR> three strings =
on a
trichord, for instance. It's all of them
equally.)<BR> 5. The dampers are aligned to =
the
strings properly. The bichords dampen both strings equally, the
trichords dampen all =
three
equally. Just not enough, it seems.<BR><BR>They do all dampen
somewhat. I mean, it's not like the pedal is down. But =
there is
definitely sound after the keys are returned to the up position. =
It
sounds just about the same as it did before I replaced them! (A =
second
question might be, who among you would charge this woman for your =
work?
I won't, until I can get it to sound better.)<BR><BR>I did file the =
hammers,
which were heavily groovy, man. I didn't change the hammer blow =
distance
though, due to the spoons initially being on the early side, I thought =
it was
best to just leave it as is. I was happy that the spoon lift was =
OK with
the new damper felts. I hate regulating spoons. I didn't =
do
anything else to the piano, other than replace a few bridle
straps.<BR> <BR>I'm going back on Saturday to =
check it
out, and see if perhaps the felt has started to conform to the contour =
of the
strings and dampen better, but if they don't, then what? I'll =
try
dampening all the treble strings that have no dampers with a towel and =
see if
the ringing goes away, but I don't think it will.<BR><BR>Any =
ideas? Is
there something I've not thought of? Any diagnostic procedures =
that
might shed light on this?<BR><BR>Thanks in advance, <BR><BR>Tom
Sivak<BR>Chicago PTG Associate<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT =
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