damper after ring?

[Jim]

Hi:

Just a note of correction.  You don't want the dampers to hit on a node,
that's what causes them to ring on.  A node is the point of minimum
motion for a particular partial.  When the damper touches on a node, it's
like a violin player touching the middle of a string to create an octave
harmonic.

However, you are on the right track.  You DO need to move the dampers a
little to get off of the nodes and more onto the loops.  I think it was
just a matter of terminology on your part.

Sometimes on a vertical piano when the dampers do not sit level on the
strings, you can hear a harmonic over-ring.  Dampers should be placed
such that some odd numbered loops are covered and some even numbered
loops are covered.  If the damper is tilted too much, one or the other
of the partials will ring on.

If you have room to raise or lower some dampers, it is better to do that
than to try to raise the whole action which in the case of angled Bass
strings will buy you a peck of trouble.

Jim Coleman, Sr.