Second Action for Steinway Concert Grand

[A440A@aol.com]

 M.J. writes:
> What I want to know is, has anyone
>else done this?  How much does it cost?  Who did the keyset, keyframe,
>action rails etc?  Did both actions use NY hammers or other "genuine
>parts"?  How well did this work?  What unexpected pitfalls were there? 

Greetings, 
     Though this is not quite like having a new action made, I have just
recently completed the second action for a 1919 model O.  I used the action
out of another, destroyed O of the same vintage.   One set has the Renner Lite
hammers, and the other has the Premium Blues.  
     Mating the second action  to the piano was incredibly simple.  For all
the talk about how individual these pianos are, I found that with a simple
spacer glued to the left side of the second keyframe, I was able to regulate
them both so that all damper underlevers mated, and all the hammer shanks were
approx. centered over the rest felts.  The difference in stack height was no
more than .020", so I bored both sets of hammers exactly the same.  I also did
the preliminary voicing exactly alike on both sets, and then put them in.  The
two hammer sets are very different: the Lites are very bright, and the Blues
are very full bodied.  
    This is a rental piano, and it is now in place in a recording studio.  So
far, the Renner Lites are the preferred action.  In fact,  they are too
brassy, which makes them perfect for the type of recording we do around here.
The first artist, ( a personal friend), asked to try  the Blue action, and
loved it. Said that that was the perfect sound he wanted, and then the
producer and engineer came out, foaming at the mouth, blabbering that those
hammers were "dead as doornails".   Ah well..........  back to the brass.  
    I store the second action on the keybed from the deceased piano, which is
hung under a bench.  
   If anyone does this,  I strongly encourage them to make all the changes
necessary so that the actions slide in and out with not changes to the piano.
The distance from the bass side of the keyframe to the una corda slot need to
be identical, and the thickness of the back rail under the dags, ditto.  The
key end felts also need to be exactly the same height so that damper timing is
unchanged, (unless you want a little "drier sound on one than the other).  
    Relationships to fly parts is the tricky aspect of this, so take very
careful measurements of key height and length.  It was easier for me to hang
the hammers at slightly different lengths than it was to accomodate the
difference in keyframe position,  and the endpins may need to be averaged.
Screws in the keybed holes, under the cheekblocks dowels, will make hold-down
pressure more easily set.  
    This is a great idea for those that have only one concert piano.  The
costs are very much less than another piano, and can be rationalized easily by
pointing out that wear will be halved with two actions, as well as maintenance
made easy by never having to take the piano out of commision for repair or
replacement. 
Good luck, 
Ed Foote