Steinway damper

[Brian Trout]

Hi Phil,

I couldn't help but notice the other responses to your question.  There may
indeed be problems that will run pretty deep.

But before you get too excited, you might want to do some up close and
personal examination of just what's going on.

On my travels, I've found several pianos, of various brand names, with
'tight dampers', a few of which a customer (or maybe even a technician?)
might have added a weight somewhere.

On a grand, it's a little harder to get to the majority of the damper
section since you pretty much have to pull the action to really check things
out right.  I have a feeling that when I've seen the 'weights', it's
probably because either the technician didn't have time to pull the action
and take care of the problem(s), or they didn't quite know what they were
doing, and I don't mean that disrespectfully.  There are a lot of
technicians who don't have a good working knowledge of grand damper systems.
(But that's what classes are for, right?  Looks like several good ones at
Arlington this year...)

The normal Steinway damper guide rail is not so tight as one might imagine.
When the damper wires are bent into their final position, they are intended
to have the wire put a slight pressure on one side of the damper guide rail
bushing.  This makes for a fairly quiet and smooth overall operation.
...Until there's too much pressure being placed against the side of that
guide rail bushing.  Things do move around a bit in a piano.  That's life.
It doesn't necessarily stay where we put it.

My point is, it's worth checking to see if just a slight bit of damper wire
bending will solve your problem.  If it will, it's much easier than
replacing the whole back action.  It's like throwing away your engine and
buying a new one just because you need new spark plugs!

That being said, there are other things like tight flanges, damper lever
weights that have fallen out, and a bunch of other little things to look
for.  But don't miss the damper guide rail in your checking for sources of f
riction.

Just had to throw in my two cents.

Good luck,

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net