On Dec 2, 2010, at 5:58 PM, David Love wrote: > Damper resistance is certainly an issue and I have wrestled with the > optimum > setting and timing in order that there is the least amount of > difference > between playing with the pedal down and not. Fooling with where in the keystroke the damper is lifted is one thing, but what I was getting at was the possibility (even probability) that there may be significant unevenness in both weight and friction moving up the scale. If there are springs, they may be set unevenly. I've never gone beyond feeling each damper in turn, raising it with a sensitive finger, when setting the bends and whatnot, and sometimes finding something that jumped out at me. But I think it is possible to assess them in an organized way without too much trouble. The best concept I have come up with is a sort of dummy key, set up like a bit of trapwork. IOW, a piece of wood, drilled in the middle (balanced), riding on a pin. Those cheap pedal brackets could form a convenient way to mount it on a scrap of wood. Make it long enough to extend beyond the stretcher. Put one end under each damper lever in turn, and see how much weight it takes to raise it. Start at the top damper, expecting to add weight fairly evenly as you move down. Maybe one of these days I'll make one and try it out. I'm not thinking of getting obsessive, just going through fairly quickly and picking out problems, like excess friction in the centers in some older Samicks, or too much side-bearing pressure of wire against bushing, or missing lead, or broken spring. Sort of like going through an action with 20-25gm weight on each key, seeing that each key will lift that much, to find rubbing parts or tight key bushings. Regards, Fred Sturm fssturm at unm.edu http://www.youtube.com/fredsturm
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