This may be such a basic question, but I have not heard it answered before. Regarding timing sustain, are we doing this in a very quiet room and timing until no trace of sound is heard - it seems to me the cut-off time might tend to be a bit arbitrary. What general guidelines do you follow? Terry Farrell ----- Original Message ----- From: "Newton Hunt" <nhunt@optonline.net> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2002 10:22 PM Subject: Re: Dead spot > You are likely experiencing the problem that most pianos have, the > dreaded "killer octave". The problem, according to those who know how > to fix it, boils down to the soundboard/rib/bridge assembly at that > point is not stiff enough. The crack has absolutely not effect at all > unless the ribs are unglued there. > > The best test is to strike A5, hard, and time it's sustain. anything > less than 12 seconds is a bead board, anything over 15 seconds is a very > lively board. > > You can pluck the strings, hard with a pick or similar tool and listen > to the tone. If the tone is exactly the same the hammers produce then > there is nothing that can be done short of replacing the soundboard with > one a little better designed. If the tone _does_ change while plucking > the strings then there are things that can be done to improve the tone. > > The idea is that if it is not there you ain't gonna get it. > > Happy New Year. > > Newton
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