Are Double-striking dampers common on Mark I Stage Pianos?

[DanTheMan]

My Mark I Stage Piano (1973 model) has a few dampers that double-strike, simply because the hammer itself bounces, not so much as to strike the tine again, but enough to make the damper move. I was wondering if any other of you Mark I owners out there had this same problem, if you had any sucess  remedying it, or if you have tried putting in backchecks (a.k.a cheekblocks...). I really have no idea what to do about mine, and am on the verge of just putting in backchecks, but if anyone else has any other suggestions, I would be happy to try them out, because I'm not really enthusiastic on the prospect of making that kind of a change to the action of my piano; I figure there must be some way that this can be fixed, or else Mark I's would be much less popular models.

Thanks,
Dan

[jim]

it may be that your dampers don't have enough upward force to stay on the tine after the note has been played. so it's not the hammer that's the problem, but the damper. If you read the technotes on the super site about double striking hammers this will unlock a world of possible problems that are easily (maybe ) remedied.
my guess would be that the damper doesn't have enough tension.
but i am a quite stupid sometimes.

[DanTheMan]

I checked out the tension, and it looks fine...thank you for the suggestion. I have checked it out many times though, and what happens is the hammer bounces when it hits the wood, which causes the bridle strap to be tensed and loosened again, which therefore causes the damper to "bounce". I just wondered if maybe this were a characteristic of Mark Is or if there's something else wrong with mine... Again, if you have any input on this, please post. Thanks!

[DanTheMan]

Ok...I just reread your post...does anyone know how I could possibly increase damper tension? Please don't tell me that would require all new dampers...*sigh*...although if it does mean that, well then I'll have to check that out.

[O.Lahoz]

Have you see the Rhodes service manual?

Chapter 4_Tension (dampers)

[DanTheMan]

I have looked at this, and unless I am a complete moron, I have done what it says, and it doesn't seem to help much. One thing I never could work out well, however, was how to bend the damper nearer to its base...

[jim]

to really adjust the dampers you have to take the harp off. there's a dissassembling section in the rhodes manual.

[DanTheMan]

Ok, so I have fiddled more with the damper tension, and that appears to have helped some. I haven't yet taken off the harp (I'll do that sometime when I have more time), but I'm still noticing that the hammer on this problem note bounces upward almost twice as much as other hammers after it lands, which is causing my damper to bounce twice as much, which causes it to hit the tine when it's not supposed to. Essentially, it's affecting my sustain on that note greatly. So, has anyone come across this before? This is a replacement hammer; it's the same type as the others, but it didn't come with this piano; the original one was broken, so I had to replace it. Could it be that the hammer is too loose in some aspect? Any suggestions I would highly appreciate.
-Dan

P.S.: I have searched the manual up and down and haven't found much help on this topic, except some help with damper adjustments.

[jim]

you REALLY have to take the harp off to adjust the dampers. it's a very fiddly thing that you cant go about half heartedly. it's NOT the hammer!

[Arrowhead]

You need to have them modified by a tech for starters.