[CAUT] RE : Quick fix Duplex was duplex

[David Love]

Agreed.  

If you have to mute the duplex try to limit it to the offending string (or
two).  Muting the entire duplex changes things too much, especially on a
longer duplex.  By muting only the offending string and leaving the other
one or two strings undamped you will have less change in overall tone on
that note.  

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of RicB
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 12:20 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: [CAUT] RE : Quick fix Duplex was duplex

Hi Marcel.

I wouldnt advise the sideways motion trick. You <<smear>> the groove 
edges around really and dont really address the problem.  Rather... 
first try a bit of string lifting for and aft of the capo.  Mild string 
lifting mind you.  If that doesnt work... then loosen one side of unison 
pair and pull up on the other.... effectively changing the spot on the 
string that contacts the capo.  And if that doesnt work... and the noise 
is bad enough to bother with, let down tension on the unison and file 
the profile for that individual unison to 0.5 mm wide V shape.  Stay 
away from the contact surface... except to very lightly sand...or 
perhaps better said "polish" a bit if you feel you absolutely have to. 

A real quick fix is a drop of CA at the back side of the capo or a kink 
in the wire... depending on what the problem is.  If you need to detune 
the duplex.. a kink in the wire can help. Ed Foote has some good advice 
on this line I believe.  Capo buzz can be temporarily addressed with 
CA.  And in both cases you can always simply braid the affected front 
lengths with some yarn.

Cheers
RicB


    OK guys,

    This is mostly something that should be looked at and taken care of with
    restringing. Now, what do you do when the buzzing is getting in the way
    of a clean good sound and you're just there for the tuning. Have any of
    you found reasonable fix for this buzzing?

    My first tentative is to move the string side to side on the capo and
    sometimes on the front duplex as well. If no change happens (which is
    rare) or the change is not enough, I now try the "pitch lock" on 2 of
    the 3 strings (I try to find which one is the worst to start with). Now,
    if this doesn't work AND the piano is NOT in a concert hall, I will on
    occasion mute the whole thing. For concert hall pianos, I will mute the
    whole front duplex (temperament felt)if it disturbs my tuning and then I
    will remove my mute.

    Any other ideas ???

    Marcel Carey, RPT