Foamy clavinet?

[mvanmanen]

A friend picked up a Clavinet C. I just had my first look in it to see what is going to need replacing and was surprised to find that the whole interior is lined with foam (with the exception of covering the strings of course). Why do this?

[sean]

To absorb spilled beer.

Hmmm... maybe they didn't understand what the yarn was for.

Maybe mice had eaten all the yarn away, so the strings could resonate freely.  And maybe the clavinet was set up right next to a wall of guitar amps, and while the band really liked the clavinet solo in the middle of "crazy train",  the guitar buzz was stimulating the clavinet strings causing an eerie ambient wash of chromatic diversity.  Obviously, there was no other option but to attempt to dampen the resonance by adding foam to the interior of the clavinet.

Uh, yeah.

[Peter Hayes]

That's the ticket...

You just never know what you'll find inside a vintage keyboard.

[Ben Bove]

I picked up a clavinet that apparently belonged to James Newton Howard when he was playing for Elton John, and the entire insides were not only foil-lined but also completely filled with Poly-Fil, basically cotton.  The only purpose I could find was that it made a great nest for the mice that were living in there.  #AudioTricks haha.

[ilcaccillo]

the entire insides were not only foil-lined but also completely filled with Poly-Fil, basically cotton. 

Well at some point he found the need to dampen the reflections inside the box, probably to have a more controlled sound with less resonance live.

Don't know how well it will work for that, but it will dampen reflections for sure even if by a marginal percentage

[Student Rhodes]

  The only purpose I could find was that it made a great nest for the mice that were living in there.  #AudioTricks haha.

Maybe his strings were cold?