trichord damper noise

[Newton Hunt]

It is trichords bowing the strings when the move.  To reduce this you
will need to cut the long tips off.  You can use a sharp set of end
cutters to get the ones over the hammers but will need to remove the
dampers to cut the ones on the back end of the block.  Commonly I cut
the dampers when I install them to prevent two problems.  One is the
swish and the other is to help damper seating when released.  I like
to use a very fine set of very sharp scissors and cut the felt on a
bias so as to increase the opening of the trichord.

You can see where the strings have seated themselves in the felt.  You
do not want to cut into this area.

		Newton

bases-loaded@juno.com wrote:
> 
> I service two recording studios in Columbus, Ohio.  The majority of the
> sessions involving the pianos are jazz combos or pop, so there is little
> solo piano work.  However, when a pianist DOES record some solo work, the
> odds are good that he will comment on the noise ('swish') of the damper
> felt rising and falling.  It's something that you rarely notice just
> playing the piano, but listening to the recording of the piano it is
> sometimes quite obvious.  I assume it is the trichord felt.
> 
> I was wondering if Ed, or another tech doing a lot of studio work might
> have some insight into this problem.  I have always assumed it was the
> recording engineer's problem to deal with, but if there is anything I can
> do to help, I would sure be interested in hearing any ideas.
> 
> Mark Potter
> bases-loaded@juno.com