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I have a 1989 Schimmel upright. Recently bought by me but appears not played very much in it's earlier life. The piano has been regulated and tuned and is playing well with the exception of the note at the break between the treble and the bass. In particular the E flat immediately above the break sounds flat and the string is left with an overtone (7th) after the note is released. The three notes immediately above are also a bit dead and sound a bit flat but with no noticeable bad overtone. I have drawn this to the attention of the tuner but he doesn't see a cure. The existing strings are steel - would a copper wire string be the answer or what else should I look at. I could live with he other notes but not the E flat which sticks out even when playing a chord.

If a note plays after you have released the key with no pedal, it is a leaky damper. The damper needs to be adjusted so it hits all the strings evenly. The other dampers may not be lifting properly.

If this has gone on for some time, the hammers may need to be voiced, because players will compensate, resulting in uneven wear. Careful filing, matching the hammers to the strings, is the first step. But take care of the dampers, first.

These are basics. Your tuner should know these things.

Thanks. The tuner has a good reputation and has done a good job so far but I will discuss the damper and further voicing with him. He has done some voicing already but has commented on how little wear there is on the hammers for the age of the piano.

Partials bleeding through dampers and other problems are sometimes caused by less experienced or less knowledgeable tuners forcing tuning wedges too far between strings and altering the string spacing, sometimes trapping the delicate damper felt. Normal slight movements in the soundboard and bridges can also be a cause when the dampers are already borderline.

Consequently, most often the appropriate way of correcting bleeding dampers is to re-align the strings to the dampers.

While problematic last notes on a bridge can take a lot of experience to correct, I would question the elementary skills of a tuner who doesn't automatically correct the odd simple bleeding damper in the course of a tuning.

Thanks Amanda. I asked another tuner to have a quick look. This man is a member of the association and has a life time of experience. He is going to change the damper as it is not hitting the strings correctly but is not guaranteeing that it will get rid of the problem. Pushing the damper firmly does not stop the after-ring but touching the string above the damper does. Waiting for the tuner to find time to come back. Busy time of the year. Hoping that this will be the cure.

The 7th partial is usually prominent in this part of the range, I wouldn't call it a bad overtone as it is just the natural part of the harmonic series giving character to the sound. It does sound like the damper needs adjusting though. Your tuner could put a twist in the dead strings or run a loop through the string which can sometimes bring some life back into the sound.

The harmonic wouldn't be noticeable if it didn't linger after the note so hopefully the new damper will relieve me of this problem. Will mention your other comments to tuner when he is here. Thanks for your help

Moth eaten dampen can't stop a vibrating string. The result is not considered overtone. An overtone is sound additional to the fundamental frequency. It's can be a mix of inharmonic and sympathetic vibrations.

Sitting between two pianos, a digital and an acoustic, in general people cannot hear the difference. A very sharp earn can hear the night and day difference. The acoustic has something the the digital does not have; that is, the hidden vibration of the cast iron. If you can hear it, it's the overtone.

Do experiment with a good acoustic piano. First hit middle C and release it. The damper stops the vibration of the middle C immediately; then hit G immediately above it. You will have hear the middle C and the G sounding, which you will not hear on the digital.

Your opening post said that the note in question has plain steel strings therefor attempting to twist them would be interesting to watch as well as counterproductive as I'm sure your tech will tell you.

Yes Amanda, I read the bit about twisting strings and didn't understand it but that is the difficulty of asking someone to comment without them looking at the piano or indeed hearing it. Nevertheless I am grateful for all comments but can't do anything until the tuner comes back. Just turning my ear off when I play these notes.

In rely to the comment about acoustic and digital I can comment that up to know I have been playing a digital and it is taking me a long time to get used to the acoustic. I have found that the digital lack of response hides poor touch and poor pedalling both of which are taking time to improve. No gain without pain but the feedback from the acoustic piano when I get it right is immeasurably better. Unfortunately it is hard to get these things right and play the more difficult pieces.