Sustain Checks

[Michael Chang]

At 12:02 AM 29/09/03 +0200, you wrote:
>Just thought I'd mention that I starting a systematic collection of
>sustain times for 3 notes in every grand piano I run into. I record each
>pianos A5, A6, and F7 with my portable puter and also note sustain times
>as my ear interprets them. I have a stop clock and I do 5 checks for
>each note and take the average. Piano type, serial numbers, and general
>condition notes are kept as well.
>
>The C7 was the definitive looser... with only 5.6 seconds sustain at A6.
>The Hamburg C had 7.2 and the C3 had 7.7


Hi Richard,

A more accurate measurement, especially for the purposes of comparison, 
might be obtained by measuring decay time when final amplitude is 60dB 
below initial attack - similar to RT60 (reverberation time measurement) 
commonly used in acoustics. This way, potential subjective errors can be 
removed.

There are many software applications that can perform this test using your 
recorded file. My favorite is Spectralab:
http://www.soundtechnology.com/download-center.htm

Michael
Not a piano tech., but interested in the technology.