Damper Zing

[David Love]

The felt hanging below the string is not likely the culprit in damper
"zinging".  This usually happens because the felt is getting too hard and
it's probably time to replace it.  Damper felt hanging below the bottom of
the string can contribute to a swishing effect which comes from the felt
rubbing on the strings as you raise them with the pedal and a bowing effect
that sets the strings to vibrating.  I've not found an effective means of
trimming the felt without removing the damper.  I use a pair of scissors I
got from the cosmetics department of a drugstore.  The cutting edge is
about 3/4" long and curved.  I don't use them for anything else so that
they stay very sharp.  Pull each damper one at a time and trim the felt up
to the bottom of the string mark (if there is one) so that the felt doesn't
protrude below the string level.    


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Clark Sprague 
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Sent: 7/3/2003 6:07:40 AM 
Subject: Damper Zing


List,  Anybody out there have a good suggestion for a trimming shears or
something to trim too long tri-chord double wedge dampers that hang too far
beyond the bottom of the string level?  Customer complaining of too much
Zing.

Clark Sprague