i purchased and received at home two days ago a beautiful C. Bechstein 124 in cherry, which I have been in love with since the first trial at the Bechstein showroom in Tübingen.
Unfortunately, here at home I am encountering a very evident and annoying problem, which was absolutely not perceptible during my trials in the showroom: a very strong resonance from the interior, from the soundboard.
Whichever key is played, when I release it I hear everything resonating for over 10 seconds... and it is not a problem of dampers nor, I think, of mechanics... simply even just by giving a little tap with my hand behind the soundboard, everything resonates strongly and for a long time.
What could be the reason? How can I hope to resolve or at least mitigate the inconvenience? The result is extremely annoying: during performance, it is as if I didn't know how to use the pedal, every most delicate harmony "gets muddied"...
Generally, it really depends on the dampers. I am naturally making a hypothesis. Generally, it seems that all the dampers dampen well... but perhaps that is not the case. So, I invite you to try something: while playing the middle part of the keyboard, touch the low strings and identify if there is a section or some damper that does not touch the strings perfectly. If that were the case, what would happen is that the notes you play would cause some harmonics of the poorly dampened low strings to resonate. Try it and let me know
Aparte from the fact that today the unpleasant effect seems reduced compared to yesterday: strange, could it be settling in? ...uhm, maybe more my perception than the instrument's!
... well yes, if I understood correctly... playing the central section, with my left hand inside the piano I felt some of the bass strings vibrating to the touch. But in general, it is the note itself that I play which, once released, continues to "float inside the soundboard" and lingers. Its string no longer vibrates but a residual sound remains for at least 10 seconds... and with the lid open, it is even more evident.
But certainly, because those low string or strings that remain not well dampened contain the harmonic corresponding to the pitch of the note you play. (see physical-harmonic phenomenon and/or Tartini's third sound in any book on musical acoustics. Recommended text: P. Righini - L'Acustica per il Musicista - Ed. Zanibon)
Great, so I assume a technician will easily be able to limit the inconvenience, right? (I have been advised to wait a couple of weeks for settling, so he will come to check and tune the instrument)
I repeat, anyway after a few days it seems to me that the effect is reducing, now it's no longer annoying to play... but still not perfect!
Settling in the sense of acclimation. Fine. Insist that the perfect simultaneous contact of the bass dampers be checked (both the concave ones for single strings and the wedge-shaped ones for double strings). Also check the parallel approach of these to the strings to avoid annoying delay "chirps" when damping.
An update: yesterday the tuner came... and told me that my reverb phenomenon is normal. There is nothing that can be done, the dampers are working at their best. Unfortunately, he didn't speak English, and with German I am not yet able to insist or have complex discussions.
The piano, now tuned, is wonderful, but thanks also to an overly generous acoustics, there remains this sensation of "always muddying the pedal" due to internal vibrations.
Yesterday the technician gave a little tap with his hand to the back of the soundboard and everything resonated for 10 seconds (something I had also tried), for him it was normal like that.
The only advice was to put a plywood panel between the piano and the wall so as not to get too stunned by the excessive volume during practice.
I absolutely do not share the same opinion. Try using a strip of felt to dam all the bass strings (to start with) and see if the phenomenon still occurs. If it has improved, it means the problem lies in the dampers (various causes: adjustment - they start too early and/or the spoon slightly displaces the felt; felts that are too stiff; incorrect orientation; insufficient and/or damaged springs). Let me know
Dear Maestro, I had the same problem with the Yamaha U3; I dampened all the bass strings with a strip of felt and noticed that the resonance has significantly decreased. Can we say then that the dampers are not doing their job well?
But, certainly one must proceed by exclusion. So in these cases, one must do as you did, Gorino. Just stop all the strings with a continuous felt, taking care not to "force" the position of the strings themselves. Then the sounds can be released one by one, marking with chalk the dampers that are working poorly. In the end, you proceed to center them well and... subsequently repeat the operation. I believe that a good result can be achieved. It is clear that the "good result" also depends on the wear of the dampers' felts themselves.
