Pianotech

  • 1.  Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 14:27

    Hello all,

    I have a Steinway M here that has a very noticeable buzz when E4 is played. I've traced the issue back to the section of the string right before the agraffe. When I put my finger on it and press hard, the buzz goes away. When I take my finger off, it comes back.

    Any ideas to try? I've thought about putting something there to keep the pressure but was hoping for a more permanent solution. It doesn't feel like the agraffe is loose but it might be. For the moment, lowering the pitch by about 25¢ on each of the affected strings and then tuning normally seemed to help the issue significantly. I just don’t know how permanent that will be. 

    image



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    www.FromZeroToSixFiguresBook.com
    www.PianoCraftTechnicalSchool.com
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 15:01

    Benjamin,

    The top of the agraffe in question looks different from the other agraffes in the image. Why is that?

    Alan



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    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
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  • 3.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 15:16

    It looks and feels like there's a small chunk taken out of the top of it. It appears to be only cosmetic. Originally I thought it had something to do with it, but then I discovered the same issue happening on a few other notes where the agraffe looks perfectly normal. 



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    www.FromZeroToSixFiguresBook.com
    www.PianoCraftTechnicalSchool.com
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 17:48

    Ben,

    What year is this M?

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 19:15

    Originally from 1917 but rebuilt in 2016 by a gentleman in Virginia. I didn't catch his name. 



    ------------------------------
    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    www.FromZeroToSixFiguresBook.com
    www.PianoCraftTechnicalSchool.com
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 20:43

    Well...I know a 1981 B that had a buzzy note in that general area for a long time. Could never figure out the "source". Then the agraffe finally broke. After replacing it...no more buzz.

    I have a 1970 L in the shop that had numerous annoying buzzes that seemed to change and move. In connection with restringing, I replaced all the agraffes...no more buzzes. 

    I have a 1980 Kawai KG-2 in here that had similar (but not quite as bad as the L) buzzes. I decided to replace the agraffes on this one too (in fact I just did it today). Interestingly, I found about a half dozen or so that were literally loose in their threads. Whether they were the source of that buzzing, I won't know till I restring it, but I would bet (if I were a betting man) that it's related. 

    I know of another case of massive buzzing problems in the agraffe section but that has yet to be resolved. The attending tech will be seeing it again this Monday. I hope to get a report from him. 

    At any rate, I would suspect you'll need to replace that agraffe to solve that problem. 

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 21:28

    Peter, I'm curious, can you ascribe a pitch or frequency range to the buzzes? And do they change proportionally from note to note? 



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    Steven Rosenthal RPT
    Honolulu HI
    (808) 521-7129
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 22:24
    Chances are it's a bad agraffe. The brass is probably worn, especially if  they weren't replaced in the past. Replace the offenders and your troubles will be over. Fortunately it's not in the wound string section.

    Best wishes!
    Gene Taets, R.P.T.




    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-13-2026 20:20
    Before replacing the agraffe, you can try to tap the string sideways. That will sometimes clear a buzzing agraffe. Perhaps the softer brass material has had a small channel machined by the string, and the string is vibrating against the side of that small channel, similar to what you can find in Capo buzzing sometimes.

    Joe Wiencek
    NYC


    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Agraffe Buzz?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-12-2026 23:18

    Steve,

    On the L, very high pitched and relatively faint, but annoying. I would say there was no detectable pitch change from note to note. AND it would appear and disappear randomly among notes. Weird...

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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    Original Message