also alittle more dip will be perceived by the player as a lighter action. What is the current kedip? Chris Solliday ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred Sturm" <fssturm at unm.edu> To: "caut" <caut at ptg.org> Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 8:22 PM Subject: Re: [CAUT] lighter touchweight > I, too, will echo Don's comments, and add aftertouch to the list. Either > too much or too little can cause a perception of "heavy." Too little, you're > getting through the action cycle and slamming into the felt. Too much, > you're wasting effort moving past the part of the keystroke that matters. It > can be a very personal thing exactly how much aftertouch someone wants. And > a definite amen to too much drop. This has the additional affect of creating > more spring resistance back pressure at the bottom of the keystroke, along > with the extra friction of jack against knuckle, and the "thunk" feel of > letoff. That together with heavy rep spring strength can really affect the > feel. > Regards, > Fred Sturm > University of New Mexico > > > On 10/17/07 2:59 PM, "Don Mannino" <DMannino at kawaius.com> wrote: > > > Jeff, > > > > "Heavy touch" is really to vague. Under what conditions; i.e., heavy > > during soft play" During loud chords? during rapid passages? Or all of > > the above? > > > > A few items to consider: > > > > - As was mentioned, damper lift could be too early. > > - Black keys could be set too high - lower them to 12mm > > - Front key pins could have high friction. Polish the pins and apply > > Teflon, and make sure the bushings are flat (not worn curved) and well > > fitted. > > - Jacks are too far under the knuckles > > - Knuckles are flat or have loose skin > > - Repetition springs are strong and / or drop screws are low > > - Hammers are too mellow. > > - Hammer center bushings are spongy, causing poor efficiency in hard > > playing. > > > > None of the above will show up in a simple down-up weight measurement. > > > > I know this sounds whacky, but lift the lid and ask for the pianist's > > comments. I'm not sure how you should phrase it, but let them know that > > there is a close interplay between tone and touch. Tell him you suspect > > that they may not be getting enough tone for his touch input. > > > > I would hesitate to jump into shimming moving the rail - if the down and > > up weight are this nice, you will just begin to move away from the nice > > balance the action currently has. > > > > Don Mannino > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of > > Jeff Farris > > Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 1:40 PM > > To: College and University Technicians > > Subject: Re: [CAUT] lighter touchweight > > > > Alan, > > > > Exactly! I feel the same way, thank you. This piano feels good to me. > > He knows it is in range for most people. He plays a LOT, and is perhaps > > having some arthritis type symptoms. He just wants to know if it can be > > a little better. I thought trying to remove just a hair off the hammer > > tails might do it, but didn't want to go through the trouble and expense > > for him if it still wouldn't be better enough. I don't see how it > > couldn't improve a little. I might experiment with that and the shimming > > the back side of the balance rail. I'll be sure to re-check damper lift > > also. > > > > Jeff > > > > > >> Jeff, > >> > >> Part of the reason for my last post is that there are many pianists > >> who'd kill for a piano with low 50s and high 20s. I'd be willing to bet > > > >> that the problem lies elsewhere. Too-early damper timing is often the > > culprit. > >> > >> Alan > >> > >> > >> -- Alan McCoy, RPT > >> Eastern Washington University > >> amccoy at mail.ewu.edu > >> 509-359-4627 > >> > >> > >>> From: Jeff Farris <Jfarris at mail.utexas.edu> > >>> Reply-To: "College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>" > >>> <caut at ptg.org> > >>> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:33:53 -0500 > >>> To: <CAUT at ptg.org> > >>> Subject: [CAUT] lighter touchweight > >>> > >>> Hi List, > >>> > >>> I have a customer who wants his 1975 Baldwin 6'8" grand to feel > >>> lighter. It was virtually unused for many years and recently had an > >>> action reconditioning and regulation. It weighed off pretty > >>> reasonable. Downweight averaged low 50's to 50 and upweight averaged > > > >>> upper 20's to 30. Friction seemed low if anything. There isn't a lot > > > >>> of lead in the keys, as much as four weights in some of the lower > >>> bass. The hammers have enough "extra" material in the cove to remove > > > >>> some in an arc shape. I'm wondering if doing only that would result > > > >>> in enough weight loss to make much difference. Has anyone done this > >>> procedure not in conjunction with leading, etc. and received good > >>> results? > >>> > >>> Sorry if you already received this. I tried to send this message > >>> yesterday from a different source computer and don't know if it went > > > >>> out. :) > >>> > >>> Thanks, > >>> -- > >>> Jeff Farris > >>> Piano Technician > >>> School of Music > >>> UT Austin > >>> mailto; jfarris at mail.utexas.edu > >>> 512-471-0158 > > > >
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