I have a Baldwin Hamilton studio upright from 1984. I just had it tuned and the tuner said there is no way to fix the buzzing I'm getting on 4 of the keys. They are the first Ab, A, Bb and B strings to the right of middle C. These 4 keys are the only ones on the entire piano that buzz, and it happens whether the dampers are engaged or not. Does anyone have a solution for this? Thank you!

Depends on what's causing the buzz. Without seeing it, I could only guess. But, any piano can be fixed; usually "it can't be fixed" means "it would be too expensive to fix." What kind of buzz is it? Metallic? Vibrating? Does it sound like a blown speaker?

Hi Loren,

Yes, it sounds a bit like a broken speaker. When I hit the A key, for instance, it actually creates two tones...the tone from the key itself along with an buzzing aftertone that's in the same pitch as the key one octave below the A key I'm striking.

As has been said, it could be any number of things causing a buzz, a diagnosis can only be made at the piano. It could even be as "simple" as a piece of paper which has fallen behind the piano and is touching the sound board - I have seen that.

If your current tuner cannot find the problem, you need to find another tuner who can.

Simple things first. If you can safely pull the piano away from the wall, you can check and see if anything has fallen on the back side of the piano and laying on the soundboard. That can cause a vibration.

It not uncommon to find the treble bridge cap separating in this area on that vintage Hamilton.

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a "treble bridge cap"?

I looked behind the piano and did indeed find a piece of paper, albeit not a loose piece. The "Inspection Tag" was wadded up and jambed between the soundboard and the back left corner support. Removing it seems to have eliminated the buzzing aftertones. Still curious though why it would have affected only those 4 particular strings? But thanks so much for your help!

Sometimes, my crystal ball is still working these days..... It is 73% correct 13 times out of 20.

My invoice is in the mail.

Mental note, your tuner said it couldn't be fix, start looking for another tuner

Buzzes are the most difficult things to find, SOMETIMES but, the obvious things are always or should be anyway, looked for first. Paper, paper clips, things that our ears have heard over time. It sounds to me as if your tuner never even bothered to look for the buzz. Things falling or placed behind the piano is one of the most simple places to check during the process of elimination. Yep, time to look for another tuner....

Don't forget the thermostat cover on the wall, the lamp shade on the other side of the room, or the filament in the light bulb near the piano!

And what Jerry said about finding another tuner..

Sometimes you never know what will resonate with the frequency of sound, wind, or other vibrations. Here is an extreme example:
Galloping Gertie

Maybe her technician is allergic to paper, so he really can not fix the problem with it?

Yeap, I have to agree, buzzes are the hardest things to find, but unless it is a real damage issue (usually not the case) the tech should be able to use his two good ears and stick his head in the piano far enough to find the issue. I have had brand new pianos with sawdust or other manufacturing debris get down between the strings and the bridge and make a buzzing. Loose windings, bad bridge pins and more can cause issues, but start with the simple, and look for the foreign object that is lodged where vibrations can make a noise. Jerry is right here too, look for the simple, and then look for a better tech if he missed this one. I make a good living finding these kinds of issues where other techs in the area have missed them or said they were unrepairable, but I found them, and fixed them, and these customers call me now. Common sense ain't so common even among piano techs.