Pianotech

  • 1.  Incessant overtone

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-27-2020 18:47

    Have a Yamaha GA1 which has a nasty overtone ring at C7, but only when you play F2. 

    Have checked damper seating at F2, and elsewhere along the overtone series.

    any help taming this beast is greatly appreciated



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    Thane Yennie - RPT
    Cheyenne WY
    307-871-8718
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  • 2.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-28-2020 06:46
    Thane,

    Check the plate braces.  Yamahas sometimes have issues with the plate braces ringing.  If that is the problem buy some magnets from a hardware store and attach out of sight.  You can paint them also.  Ace Hardware carries the magnets:  https://www.acehardware.com/departments/tools/hand-tools/magnets/2108553

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    Tim Coates
    Sioux Falls SD
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  • 3.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-28-2020 06:52
    Hi Thane

    That can happen with a smaller piano because of the scale (thicker bass strings to make up for the lack of length.) 

    Have you tried voicing?  A piano like that might be due for some. 

    Good luck :o) 

    Elizabeth


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    Elizabeth Pearson
    Gaithersburg MD
    240-751-5900
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  • 4.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-28-2020 13:27
    Thane, 

    Try moving the action in or out (probably out as Yams have a stop preventing going in) to play with the strike point to see if that makes any difference.

    That frequency is definitely part of the harmonic structure as I checked it on SS M here in the shop. It definitely is there (though not objectionable).  So voicing math in fact be the solution. Before doing that though, tape off ALL NSL segments. If it goes away with that you know you have a sympathetic frequency somewhere. Find it, mute it and you're done. If it doesn't change, you've eliminated that possibility. 

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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  • 5.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Member
    Posted 07-28-2020 16:54
    I just had a Kawai KG-2 and a Yamaha U3 that had nasty plate ring. As I got into the bass tuning on the Kawai, it really started to ping. I tightened all the plate bolts on both pianos and the pinging went away. The head of the school noticed the improvement in the bass from the other room. I have solved many nasty overtones by checking and tightening the plate screws.
    My U1 that I got from burning man had 2 stripped screws when I checked them.

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    Keith Roberts
    owner
    Hathaway Pines CA
    209-770-4312
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  • 6.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-20-2020 10:14
    Hello again,
    still battling the c7 overtone.  Have methodically applied aforementioned ideas, excluding voicIng, at this point.  My next step is to go through and check if there is a damper resting on a node somewhere.  With that in mind does anyone have a systematic way of checking Damper/node interference?

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    Thane Yennie - RPT
    Cheyenne WY
    307-871-8718
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  • 7.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Posted 10-20-2020 10:19
    Are you talking Yamaha C7 or the 7th harmonic of C on some other instrument?

    Best wishes

    David P



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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594





  • 8.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Member
    Posted 10-21-2020 22:56

    David... he stated it was a Yamaha GA1 and the note was C7 . I think this is one of the smallest Yamaha Grands and may be the one that was rescaled.

    I recall working on a small Yamaha that did not sound any better after being tuned. I have also found some Yamahas to have some bell sounding strings in the bass that others suggested to add magnets on the plate struts to increase plate mass. Weaving some cloth on the back scale/nsl may help along with some magnets.



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    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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  • 9.  RE: Incessant overtone

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 11-09-2020 10:00
    I have discovered the culprit!  After another trip to the patient and perseverance, the overtone issue has been rectified.  Here is a list of what it was not: sympathetic vibration through plate strut, leaking dampers, lack of stringing braid on N/S length behind bridges (although the application of same did help in overall tone), damper(s) resting on node(s).  Any voicing technique which involved manipulating hammers.   So as I sat, played, and pondered I recalled a comment from the Busby/Mrykalo voicing class - "String prep will cure a lot of voicing issues."   So the winner......tweaking the termination of F2 right hand string at the front bridge pin.  A flick of the wrist and immediate results.  Which makes one wonder why I didn't do this weeks ago. 🤷🏼‍♂️

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    Thane Yennie - RPT
    Cheyenne WY
    307-871-8718
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