Dear list, I am stumped with the backchecks on this piano. The piano is an early 80s S&S L with new Premium blue hammers on Renner shanks & flanges and re-leathered original backchecks. I have CLOSELY regulated key height, dip, let-off and drop, spring tension, and all the other usual suspects. The problem is that the hammers absolutely refuse to check when the note is played at the level of forte or less. They just bounce between the backcheck and the string. The angle of the backchecks is good and they check high enough, but I just can't seem to get them to work in the piano. The problem is particularly bad in the bass and tenor, where the hammers are larger. The problem may be in the balancier. When I push the balanciers down, there seems to be much more spring resistance than normal although the hammer rise is not particularly fast. The original wippens have been rebuilt and repinned, so I'm pretty sure that it is a not pinning problem. The slots are clean and the springs have been cleaned and polished. I'm pretty much at my wit's end and if I don't get this resolved soon, I'm going to have to take a hostage. Any and all help will be gratefully appreciated. Many thanks. Tom Tom Seay Piano Tech Office School of Music The University of Texas at Austin t.seay@mail.utexas.edu
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