S&S capo

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Ron Nossaman wrote:

> At 01:43 PM 2/19/99 -0500, you wrote:
> >dear list,
> >
> >we have a nice new S&S D here at the university that has a small problem
> >that i am not sure how to address.  at the point in the treble where the
> >capo begins i am getting a lot of noise from the non-speking length between
> >the capo and the v-bar.  it's not "a lot" of noise but more than i like.  i
> >have checked all the usual suspects; string level, hammer fit, bridge pins,
> >strings seated, etc.  what i notice is that there is a ton of energy
> >comming over the capo and into this length.  if i put my finger on that
> >non-speaking length and play the note, the tone is dead.  i tried this on
> >other pianos and i don't notice the same effect.  on a hard blow i am
> >getting a sizzle from this section as if the string level was bad.  what's
> >the deal?  should the non-speaking length be getting this much vibration
> >through the capo?  why does muting that length deaden the tone so much more
> >than other, similar pianos?  am i missing the obvious?
> >
> >thanks for your help,
> >chris
> >
> >-Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T.   School of Music  Ohio University  Athens OH
> >
>
> Sounds to me like you are a victim of "tuned" front duplex noise. It's
> unlikely to have anything to do with string level and hammer mating and
> voicing, and certainly not the bridge pins and string seating (if the noise
> stops when you touch the front duplex section, it's probably not originating
> at the other end of the piano). It is a string termination problem, but it's
> at the capo. If there isn't sufficient string bearing angle across the
> pressure bar (about 20 degrees), there will be a lot of energy leakage into
> the front duplex, as you have noticed. This is a design problem resulting
> from an attempt to get better sound out of an area in the scale that can't
> produce the sound because of another design problem with the soundboard.
> Reshaping the pressure bar may help, or may make it worse, but the fact is
> that it was intended to make noise. Other pianos won't make exactly the same
> noise because they don't have exactly the same configuration of bearing
> angle, duplex length, and pressure bar shape. This was all discussed at
> great length some time back. You might check the archives.
>
>
>  Ron

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