Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Click noise after key release...normal?

https://youtu.be/xTmCVFEQkH0

I'm new to piano and bought my first used grand. In the video above, after I release the key, the damper falls and you can hear a clicking noise (you'll need to turn up the volume). Is this normal? I hear this at my piano teacher's place as well, but his was much quieter and barely noticeable. My sister's upright didn't make as much noise as mine either. Mine is loud enough that it's distracting. When I play very loudly, it's not as much a concern since the music drowns out the clicks. But when I play at moderate loudness, it's noticeable. Thank you in advance for your response.

That is way too loud. Get a tech in to trouble shoot. If there isn't one in your area, PM me and we can Skype.

Sounds like the hammer rest rail needs tightening.

I pulled out the action (my very first time doing it). Good news: the piano didn't blow up. Bad news: it's still making the same sound. I tightened all of the screws for the hammer rail; it didn't need much tightening, only about 1/16 of a turn each. Still making the same clicking noise. Below is the new video of hammer with the action pulled out (make sure you turn your volume way up). What do you guys make of it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWiGi8kYRAg

Normally the hammers would rest a few mm above the hammer rest felt.Lower the hammer rest rail so that the hammers hover above the felt. Check the blow distance - if necessary adjust it via the pilot screws and then reset the hammer rest rail so that the hammers are 2 or 3mm above the felt.

My guess is that a non tech has been fiddling with the regulation.

Sorry, wrong thread...

Sometimes the hammer shanks will click on the spade tip repetition lever height adjustment screw. The solution will take some thoughtful troubleshooting and looking closely at the hammer blow distance, the height of the hammer rest rail etc. It already looks like the hammers are resting on the rail, and they should not.

What is the blow distance?

Tails rubbing on rail?

The blow distance is 46 mm. How far should it be? I've seen videos on adjusting the blow distance with the capstan screw. How do I go about resetting the rest rail?

If the rest rail is loose, chances are it is just one nut which has come loose. Determine whether it is the one on top or on the bottom by making sure that the bottom one touches the rail and then tighten the top one.

I just found the video below of someone else with the clicking problem. He also has a Young Chang. Is the culprit what he's describing or is the problem being that the shank is hitting the rail?

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

There are nuts, both on top and underneath the hammer rail. Simply unscrew the top ones ( with the action remaining screwed down on top of the keys) and then screw the bottom ones down until there is a few mm gap between the hammer rest felts and hammer shanks. If no one has altered the pilots then the blow distance shouldn't be too far out - but measure it again having re installed the action.

Without the hammers hovering above the rail, it can cause lots of excessive clattering sounds, so it would be best to check this before delving any deeper into other possibilities.

I lowered the rest rail and that didn't do anything. I found the culprit: it's the felt for the jack regulating button. The video that I posted above of a separate person with a Young Chang was what clued me in (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIxfuVStaoE). After I found that video, I found an old thread on this forum as well (https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubb...ng%20Chang%20entire%20action%20clic.html). The question now is if I should just replace the felt, do what that person in the old thread did and replace all of the whippens, or simply just live with it?

Needle the felt.

I watched your videos, (both of them i think) and it seems to me that the underside of the whippen is hitting the top of the aluminimum action rail when the key is released and returns to its resting position. If this indeed the cause of the click, then raising the capstans a bit might eliminate the click. Are these the original whippens?

What BDB said, and if that doesn't work replace the felt. If stray glue got stuck on the felt that can make all kinds of racket, and needling may not take care of it.

Congrats on narrowing the problem down!

If there is glue on the felt, usually it can be removed by peeling or cutting the surface off. The button may need to be adjusted.

Is needling a long term solution? Since the other thread and video are both Young Chang pianos, I assume this problem is due to low quality felts that are used for Young Chang. Since needling the felt or replacing it would require the technician to remove the hammer and later re-index it, I figured I should just replace the felt with high quality stuff so that the problem wouldn't return.