Touch Weight

James Ellis claviers@nxs.net
Mon, 22 Dec 2003 14:12:01 -0500


Ed, Don, Isaac, Richard, Vince,

Since posting my latest memo, I have been thinking.  There might be one
case where putting more leads closer to the center of the key to reduce the
"key" inertia might help a little bit.  That is in the case of partial-blow
repetition, where the jack just gets back under the knuckle on fast key
release from check, and the blow is repeated before the hammer has time to
come back to rest.  In this case, the hammer has not yet come into the
picture as far as return acceleration is concerned.  It's still up in the air.

Ed Sutton suggested some measurements, and I think that might be a good
idea.  If the concensus of the group is for it, I can do it.  I would
propose to measure the return time of the jack under the knuckel following
sudden key release, and also the acceleration of the hammer on return from
check.  I would expect these two measurements to be quite different, and I
would expect the reduced key inertia to allow the jack to return under the
knuckle a little bit faster, but nothing dramatic.  I would not expect much
difference in the return time of the hammer to the rest position.

All of the above would need to be done from the checked position after
sudden key release.  Anything else would simply be measuring hammer rebound
time.

It will require some set-up time to do the test, but I will do it if there
is much interest.  If not, I won't.  What's your pleasure?  Would you like
me to set up the test and do the measurements?

Jim Ellis



This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC