* Re: Sudden damper buzz syndrome

[Geoff Sykes]

Okey shmokies. I'll give it a test run on some junk dampers I have lying
around before I try in on the clients real piano. Thanks for the follow-up.

-- Geoff


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of ed440 at mindspring.com
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 12:37 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: RE: * Re: Sudden damper buzz syndrome


Sonicare is exactly the brand.  It doesn't "sand," it "massages" with a
gentle buzz and opens the compressed fibers. Ed S.

-----Original Message-----
>From: Geoff Sykes <thetuner at ivories52.com>
>Sent: Nov 19, 2006 3:03 PM
>To: tune4u at earthlink.net, 'Pianotech List' <pianotech at ptg.org>
>Subject: RE: * Re: Sudden damper buzz syndrome
>
>It's really funny that you suggest this. I recently had the 
>"opportunity" to sand down a soundboard in preparation for refinishing. 
>It had just received some shims to repair some cracks. Using a small 
>electric palm sander I was able to get into most places, and even 
>relatively close to the edges around the frame. But the job still 
>involved quite a bit of hand sanding in the tight spots. Right after I 
>finished that project I retired my SonicCare electric toothbrush and 
>upgraded to a new Oral-B electric toothbrush. In retrospect of the 
>sanding job I was actually thinking of a way to convert the SonicCare 
>into an electric sander. I'm not sure I'm ready to try it for the first 
>time on dampers, however. Have you actually sanded dampers with an 
>electric toothbrush? Damper pads are pretty fragile.
> 
>-- Geoff Sykes
>-- Assoc. Los Angeles
> 
> 
> 
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On 
>Behalf Of Alan R. Barnard
>Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 11:21 AM
>To: pianotech at ptg.org
>Subject: * Re: Sudden damper buzz syndrome
>
>
>
>Two words: Electric toothbrush. Hint, don't use any toothpaste.
>
>Alan Barnard
>Salem, MO
>Joshua 24:15
>
>
>
>
>
>  _____
>
>Original message
>From: "Stephen Papastephanou"
>To: "Pianotech List" 
>Received: 11/19/2006 10:33:08 AM
>Subject: Re: Sudden damper buzz syndrome
>
>
>
>I had the exact same experience with a Yamaha C7 and the cure 
>prescribed below cured immediately the problem. S.P.
>
>On 11/19/06 12:15 AM, "WilsonianJ at aol.com" <WilsonianJ at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>Dear Geoff,
>
>I have a sneaking suspicion that the dampers are "crusty" and are
"sizzling"
>upon contact with the strings.   Your client may have only now noticed
after
>listening more intently to your tuning.   I highly doubt that the issue was
>caused by your tuning, but your client may believe differently. The 
>quick fix for sizzling dampers is to remove the damper and soften the 
>felt a bit. It doesn't take much so if you very conservatively scratch the
surface of
>the felt, you should ameliorate the problem.   Roughing up the felt too
much
>will cause leaking dampers. Try it on one or two first to see if that's the
>problem.   
>
>Good luck, Geoff,
>
>Jim Wilson, RPT
>L.A. Chapter
>
>
>
>In a message dated 11/18/06 7:34:07 PM, thetuner at ivories52.com writes:
>
>
>Greetings all --
> 
>Last week I tuned a customers Kawai grand piano. The customer was out 
>of town so he left me a key to his studio. He returned the other day 
>and while he is happy with the tuning and the other repair work I 
>completed he mentioned that all the wound strings are now exhibiting a 
>buzz when the damper comes into contact with the played string. Once 
>the damper has completely engaged the buzzing stops and the strings 
>damp correctly. He says it is objectionably noticeable only on the 
>entire wound bass string section of the piano. This is not something 
>that I noticed while I was there so I'm curios as to your thoughts on 
>what could have caused this and what I might be able to do to affect a 
>timely fix. FWIW, he lives a couple of miles from the beach but has a 
>DC de-humidifier installed. The piano also lives in a small, relatively 
>well sealed but otherwise non-climate controlled garage studio.
> 
>-- Geoff Sykes
> -- Assoc. Los Angeles.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>--
>
>
>