In a Hohner Clavinet, the strings are wrapped in many threads of yarn. Made of wool, this yarn is designed to immediately dampen the sound of the strings when the respective key is released.
The design of the Clavinet means that the strings are always dampened by the yarn when the key is at rest position. The way a string is sustained is by a key being pressed. It achieves this by the string being pressed between the hammer tip and the anvil underneath the string. By doing this it creates a new speaking length and removes the part of the string that is dampened by the yarn.
On many Clavinets that have been restrung, a more modern approach is used to dampen the strings. To save a tediousness of rethreading yarn, a product by Vintage Vibe called Clavigel is used. Clavigel is two gel like strips which magnetically clipped above and below the strings. It achieves the same function as yarn, but theoretically can last longer as will not corrode as fast. In practice, either are fine when undertaking restringing.
