Adjusting Damper Spoons - Piano Tuning & Repair I HOWARD PIANO INDUSTRIES

[@thomaslau9631]

Thank you so much for the clear explanation. This has been my puzzle about lightening the action of my piano. This seems to be the solution.

[@jameslittle8629]

Your videos are excellent, highly recommend them, Little and Lampert Pianos

[@WyattsSaab]

Thank You Mr Howard!

[@joshsimpson79]

Thank you very much for this video and for all of the others. I am learning tuner/repair online, but these videos are really helping connect the dots. Thanks again.

[@howardpianoind]

Thanks for watching Josh. I'm so glad to hear that the videos are helping you in your learning process.

[@richardgolonka7585]

So the damper spoon affect the touch of the piano. Bending a bit towards you when its in the piano make the damper lift later, reducing the weight of the key initially and contributing to a lighter touch? If I have that right. In your overview of all the steps for regulation, you did not mention this one. I assume that is because it might be a preference thing, like the key dip. Where would you adjust the damper spoons in the process, at the aftertouch step?

[@katiegrundle9900]

is it easier to remove the whole action and adjust them all the same and put it back in the piano?

[@howardpianoind]

Yes, this can be a very efficient way to do the whole set. You may have to remove the action several times but it may still prove faster than trying to adjust them all with the action in place. Make sure to make very small movements of the spoons as it is easy to overdo it.

[@caimano655]

GREAT VIDEO!!!

[@VinicioSantacruz]

Hi!! Hope you are still arround. I have this problem with the damper: after playing the key the damper don't turn up completely de string so it remains a kind of resonance like a armonic, and it's specially anoying when playing fast passages with repeated notes. Can waht this problem occurs??

[@thomandy]

When playing staccato on my Kawai k-300, the hammers hit the strings two times, its very noticable that two notes soar instead of only the one intended.. how can this be fixed?

[@howardpianoind]

This is a common problem caused by the action needing some regulation adjustments. They call the problem a bobbling hammer. We do have a video that shows how to fix the problem. Here is a link to the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/epish6SfoNGenas

[@thomandy]

howardpianoind Thank you!! I did find the video yesterday!:) I will have a service on the piano very soon for free, since this is a brand new piano!

[@samuelfernandes8885]

Hi, tks for amazing vídeos. Im restoring my upright piano and i can notice that when i press pedal, bass dampers are much more far from strings that others. This is normal? After pressing a key what should be the maximum distance that the damper can go trought?

[@pgoodboy3]

Thanks for making this video. My piano was working fine and one day all the keys in the C5 octave started to last a bit longer after releasing the key(and without using the damper pedal) but not as much as when I use the damper pedal. Due to the COVID-19 situation right now, I'm not able to get any technician to come fix it at my house. What could be the possible cause and how do I fix it ? Thanks again :)

[@howardpianoind]

It sounds like the damper pedal may need to be adjusted. Here is a link to the video which shows this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKjUoHuEncyViZo

[@dannysound1]

howardpianoind, I took the action out and I see that my NEUMAN piano doesn't have spoons but screws, is there any method to lightening the keys with the screws? thanks

[@howardpianoind]

I'm not sure without seeing the action how the screws would be adjusted.

[@joaozitchu1222]

can I do this adjustment without this key?

[@howardpianoind]

It would be possible, but difficult as you’d have to have something to be able to make very small adjustments to the spoon which isn’t very accessible.

[@syncopated]

Love your videos...I've learned a lot! I have an issue I cannot solve so far: The last 4 treble dampers, before the bass begins, allow a ringing of the string for 2/3rds of a second to one second. It's a high pitched ring...not the same note as the strings. I have just replaced all the dampers with new ones, following Art Reblitz's instructions in his book. All has gone well accept for the above issue. I've tried every angle and adjustment I can try. I even re-tensioned the damper springs, and I can feel the difference in resistance. Still the ring won't go away unless I put my finger on the unisons. (or wait one second) Any ideas? I've just ordered a few tri-chord wedge felts to see if they'll fare better then the flat ones.

[@howardpianoind]

The problem you're having isn't uncommon as it is difficult to get this section of notes to damp well. The trichord dampers will help and may solve the problem. If it doesn't you'll want to narrow the issue down to finding which of the three strings is still ringing. Then you may have to make some small adjustments to the wire or the the felt so it seats on all three strings evenly. This is a very tedious task, but with some careful work the problem can be eliminated.

[@syncopated]

I hadn't considered "adjustments to the felt." What can be done to the felt to improve seating? I feel I've exhausted the ways in which the block can approach the strings. Also, I suspected that the last treble damper doesn't work well because it's smaller than the rest, due to having to cut some of it off to allow for the first bass damper to get by without collision.

[@howardpianoind]

The adjustments to the felt will be on the trichord felt as you can shape the felt a little by pushing open the slot where the center string goes so it seats further onto the strings.

[@DeadHorse666]

Update: I bent them all with the action out and only had to take it out once more to correct a couple I bent too far. They're by no means perfect but good enough to make it a lot more playable. I already didn't like this as soon as you said damper spoon bender. I thought someone putting modern hammers on my period instrument that use to have small uniform ones was the reason the action was so heavy but the dampers lift right away. I bent one while the action was out but tried bending it back, didn't get it far enough and it ended up being perfect when I put the action back in. I bought a set of tools and the damper spoon bender it comes with doesn't fit without taking out the action so I'm going to bend them based on the perfect one. I saw another way to adjust it by bending the rods that hold the dampers instead but I feel that might make the dampers inconsistent when I use the sustain pedal so I'm going to stay away from that one. Lucky for me, I only have to do it 57 times.

[@howardpianoind]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@patatje1434]

hey steve, could this also be done taking out the whippen? or even the entire action if you want to ajust more then one spoon?

[@howardpianoind]

Yes, you could make the adjustment with the action out, but it’s difficult to tell how much you need to adjust without being able to test it with the action in the piano..

[@philedwards2213]

Ronisch 2 crown Thanks for the great videos, I have learnt a lot so far. My problem is the bass black keys aren't damping properly and the note is carrying on longer, until you use the key next to them.The v damper felts have spread to touch the neighbouring felts. If I ground a little off the side of each, with a mild grinding stone on a Dremel, would it make the felt weaker and the problem worse or would it fix it? I thought it may make the felt weaker and spread the damper felt wider? I should just replace the dampers, as I guess it will have to be done eventually. Just trying to get a bit more out of it before I do any major repairs. Any help greatly appreciated.

[@howardpianoind]

It certainly could help to trim a little off the sides of the damper felts to keep them from rubbing on each other.

[@philedwards2213]

Thanks I'll give it a try.

[@cleoperino5396]

any idea what would cause a key to vibrate wayyyy to much!...is it the dampers or the keys themselves.I cant seem to figure this out! Thank you

[@howardpianoind]

I'm not sure what you mean by the key vibrating. Is it a buzzing noise in the sound or is it an actual vibration in the key?

[@cleoperino5396]

@@howardpianoind Its like a twang after striking the key...its like when you strum a guitar and the sound keeps going until you muffle the strings with your hand...the other keys dont do that..I strike a neighbor key, and it just makes the tone and stops...these three keys from bass c to f continue to vibrate after striking a key

[@howardpianoind]

Yes, this would be because of an adjustment that needs to be done to the damper. If it is a section of notes, then it could be something with the damper pedal or the spoons.

[@cleoperino5396]

@@howardpianoind thank you so very much..I am actually smiling right now...:)

[@mark5862]

I purchased your spoon adjuster and have no problem getting at the spoon on a key at the end of the section like you show in the video, but am not able to get the tool between the whippens of all the other keys. There is not enough space for the head of the tool to get between them, and I'm scared to force it too much. I'm thinking about trying to grind the head of the tool a bit to make it smaller, but I still don't think it will fit. Any advice on how to get it in there before I resort to removing the action? Thanks! Great videos.

[@howardpianoind]

Are you able to get the tool in below the whippens? In some pianos you can't if there isn't enough space between the bottom of the whippens and the keys. If you can't, then you'll have to adjust the spoons with the action out of the piano.

[@mark5862]

My piano is a 43" Walter. I'll try again but don't think there is enough space to get the hook part of the tool between the key and whippens without having to go between the whippens. The piano in the video looks like it would have the same problem, but may have a little more room than mine. Thanks

[@mark5862]

I removed the action and got the spoon adjusted . With the action remove it was easy to see the damper that needed adjusting was out of line with the others. Thanks

[@wearetemporary]

I have this specific spoon bender from Howard's and use it on my Baldwin Hamilton 243 upright (I can't speak to any other pianos). At first I thought it didn't fit and was pretty upset. But after some patient experimentation, I realized that it does fit without having to remove the action. I've made it a habit to remove the key of the damper spoon that needs adjusting, in addition to each adjacent key. It's fiddly, but after a while one gets the hang of it without having to knock stuff about too much :).

[@pnguyen884]

I have problem with clicking key now. I have tried to tighten all the screws from your instruction in other videos. But the clicking noise still happens. I assume there is something with the damper as when I use the pedal, the clicking noise is gone.

[@howardpianoind]

Another thing you could check is to see if the hammer head is loose on the shank. This is a common cause of clicking keys.

[@pnguyen884]

howardpianoind thanks for your advice. I solved it already, the bushing in the back of the damper level wears severely, so when I press the key, the damper spoon touches the damper level and makes clicking noise

[@drkz4ck]

Hey Howard! My upright has some unusually heavier keys. I checked it out a little bit, and found out that the force that the damper itself pushes against the strings on those heavier keys is greater than the normal ones. What parts of the action could be influencing on making the dampers press harder against the strings? Thank you!

[@howardpianoind]

If it is the pressure of the damper then it would be caused by the strength of the damper spring.

[@drkz4ck]

howardpianoind I see. Thank you so much!

[@robviolin1]

great vid. can you adjust the pressure of each key. my new piano is very hard to play.

[@howardpianoind]

There are a number of things that affect the weight of the keys or the touch being light or heavy. One is the timing of the damper spoons as shown in this video. If the damper is lifting sooner in the keystroke, it will cause it to seem heavier.

[@robviolin1]

howardpianoind - thanks for your help. 👍

[@PianoTipping]

I've been watching your videos all night, great channel. I'm getting my first acoustic piano Sunday. It's a free Kohler & Campbell spinet. It seems to be in really good shape. I noticed one key doesn't silence fast enough when you let go of it. I looked at the damper and it looks like it touches the strings but not quite enough. If I press it lightly with my finger it immediately stops. Would adjusting the damper spoon fix that or does it require something else?

[@howardpianoind]

There are a couple of different things that could cause this. I would check the damper spoon first. You'll want to make sure that the key has some movement before the damper starts to lift. It possibly could be a broken damper lever or damper lever flange or a weak damper lever spring.

[@PianoTipping]

Thanks for the info

[@andrewbolduc5084]

Hello Howard, I recently purchased an upright piano for my Wife. I have been watching a lot of your videos as I refinished it because it was not very nice looking. After completing the wood work and returning the action I have noted that there are two keys that now ring. It seems the dampers do not return solidly enough to damp the key. I was wondering if this could be corrected by adjusting the spoon or is this an alignment issue or possibly something else. Also, thank you for your amazing videos, they are very informative.

[@howardpianoind]

Hi Andrew, The damper problem is probably due to an alignment issue. You'll also want to check to see if the damper is lifting too early with the pedal. If this is the case, you'll need to adjust the damper wire.

[@andrewbolduc5084]

Thank you for the quick response Howard. It was an alignment issue as you mentioned and I was able to get it dialed in. Now I need to watch some more videos so I can get everything perfect before tuning. Keep making these awesome videos.

[@ericgomezreunion]

45 ans de métier à plein temps et toujours pas capable de régler avec cet outil !!!!!!!!!

[@therenegadepianotechnician5170]

. Step one is to adjust the dampers side to side alignment, Step 2 is for the pedal so they lift evenly. and are pressing against the strings by bending the wires. I was hoping this was adjusting the spoons action outside the piano. Great video nonetheless.

[@johnbishop5316]

Do you paint the inside of your front door from the outside of your house through the letter box? That tool is useless. I'd like to see you do the whole thing! In fact I defy you to. I think that before bending a spoon, the whippen should be held in pliers or a wrench to prevent damage to the bearing. The action has to be removed to do this job properly. I suggest a better method in my book, The Haynes Piano Manual. John Bishop

[@howardpianoind]

Yes, it is a difficult thing to do until you get used to it, but once you get used to it, it's not too hard. I know that some technicians prefer to adjust the spoons with the action out of the piano, but I realize that each person has their preferences on what method works best.

[@johnbishop5316]

Thanks for your reply. Sorry I was unnecessarily abrasive. I feel much happier holding the whippen somehow before bending the spoon for fear of damaging the bearing or splitting something. Best wishes.

[@gepinomus]

John Bishop, it shoud be slide between the keys,very useful tool.If you are careful everything be all right.

[@georgerikken]

Just take the action 90° to you and bend the damper spoons This is to complicated !!

[@dannysound1]

georgerikken how do you take the action 90 degrees to you? Thanks

[@georgerikken]

To much work ! , turn the action to you and bend damperspoons , whole action in 10 minutes

[@katiegrundle9900]

thats what i was thinking

[@john_duncan]

jeeees how to do it, not why. did not even finish video you rambled so much.