Harp Bracket Is buzzing

[dfhagai]

Hi Everyone,

There is an irritating buzz that is caused by the friction between the Harp bracket and the tone bar.

Watch :


What on earth can one do to solve this kind of a problem?

Many Thanks,
Hagai

[Mark II]

1. [Edit] I was wrong. Dont ever think of removing the harp brackets [/Edit]
2. check the tonebar screws, they might be bend

good luck

Mark II

[dfhagai]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

As seen in the picture, the screws are new, and straight.
If I find no other solution, can I permanently  remove the harp bracket?

[kitchen]

Don't remove the harp brackets just yet......
What I did is; take a little piece of paper, fold it over 3 or 4 times really tight so you get a firm tiny strip of folded paper(apr.2-3mm wide and 1cm long), loosen the tonebar screws so you get a little gap and stick the paper between the tonebar and the harp bracket on the spot where they touch, re-tighten the tonebar screw(s) and gone is that annoying buzz......
Don't know if it does the trick for you, but it worked for me.
If it works for you too,I want to see it on a picture, deal ?

Good luck

Kitchen

[hrees]

Don't remove the harp brackets. They are there to make the harp more rigid. Without them your tine/pickup settings will move significantly. If you don't believe me take the brackets out and watch how the tine rail and pickup rail move as you undo the screws.

To get rid of the vibration just bend the bracket out of the way.

[Ben Bove]

dont remove the brackets, the harp will sag in the middle and the tines will slightly line up differently with the pickups.  

sometimes the tonebar screws are bent.  try to tighten or looseen either of the screws to see if the touching tonebar rotates slightly away from the bracket.  lastly, with the bracket still screwed on, push on it bending it slightly in the middle away from the touching tonebar.  Don't worry you can't bend it that much even if you tried, but a little bit is all you need.  It will still serve its function.

[Pale]

Don't remove the harp brackets just yet......
What I did is; take a little piece of paper, fold it over 3 or 4 times really tight so you get a firm tiny strip of folded paper(apr.2-3mm wide and 1cm long), loosen the tonebar screws so you get a little gap and stick the paper between the tonebar and the harp bracket on the spot where they touch, re-tighten the tonebar screw(s) and gone is that annoying buzz......
Don't know if it does the trick for you, but it worked for me.
If it works for you too,I want to see it on a picture, deal ?

Good luck

Kitchen

I did the same, a small piece of paper pushed between the tonebar and the brackets solved my problem.

[Spookyman]

Rigt...i made the same experience. I removed the bracket for 3 - 4 weeks. After a while, i had some bad contacts between the pickups and the tone bars. With the consequence that only the upper notes where playable, and no sound came out from the down part of the keyboard.

So i reinstalled the harp bracket and everything went allright.

The trick with the paper seems to be a good idea.

[dfhagai]

I thank you all dear friends.

I'll try that and if it works I'll upload a picture

One question though, isn't it logical that a paper will muffle the sound?

[kitchen]

isn't it logical that a paper will muffle the sound?

When it's tight on that end on the tonebar it won't muffle your sound at all, at least not noticible on my piano.

Kitchen

[Pale]

I thank you all dear friends.

I'll try that and if it works I'll upload a picture

One question though, isn't it logical that a paper will muffle the sound?

It is logical, but it doesn't happen if you position it right. Experiment.

[dfhagai]

I will try that immediately.
Thanks a Lot friends

[Pale]

I will try that immediately.
Thanks a Lot friends

NP. Just make that avatar a bit smaller

[prtarrell]

Don't ever remove the  brackets.  They are part of the harp system.  Loosen the brackett screws and try to position it where it doesn't touch the tone bars. If this doesn't work, tighten the screws, and with a piece of wood, give the brackett a whack to bend it  to where it doesn't touch. You can pass a thin piece of paper alongside the tonebar to feel where it touches (or not.) If this doesn't work, remove the tone bar and file a liittle off where it touches.  Sometimes, just a slight turn of the tonebar screw(s) will clear it  and stop the buzz.
                                                                                                 Phil

[guizmo]

Hello,

I've got the same problem on my rhodes... I tried with a piece of paper between the bracket and the tone bar but it doesn't work.
I think the grommets are dead because I pull a little bit the tone bar in the left direction, and after 3 hits on the key the tone bar moves against the bracket.

Is there a solution ? without changing the grommets ?

Thanks

G

[Ben Bove]

This one is covered in detail elsewhere but not sure where the thread is located.

There are a number of great solutions, some amazing but do take a machine shop and advanced stuff.  For a quick fix which is what I imagine you're looking for, try two things:

Ajust the tonebar screws to see if the tonebar rotates as you screw in or out (both front and back screws).  If one of the tonebar screws does rotate the tonebar out of the way, adjust the other one to correct the tone.

Lastly, it does actually work - a tap of the bracket with a hammer in the opposing direction, close to the top where it screws in to the harp, will move it out of the way.

[guizmo]

Thanks a lot for your answer, I'm gonna test it asap.

G

[guizmo]

Hello,

I tried to screw in or out, and adjust the back screw to find the good tone, but it still doesn't work, the tone bar moves slowly after few hits of hammer and finally touches the bracket.

With a piece of paper between the tone bar and the bracket, in my case the buzz increases.

But, I found a solution putting a piece of paper between the tone bar 52 and 53 located at the level of the escapement screw. It prevents the tone bar 53 to go and touch the bracket.

Thanks

[Tim Hodges]

Vintage Vibe used to do this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suq_DY7Bs64

I've tried it before with a dremmel and has worked fine for me. Alternatively you could ask a local machine shop to do it for you. Not sure though if it'll still continue to hold the harp in shape as the metal will be a lot thinner but worth considering.

[guizmo]

Thanks for the link. It's interesting, but like you said, we're not sure that it will works fine for a long time.
For the time I'm satisfied with my piece of paper, but I'm thinking about making the same thing.

thanks