On Dec 1, 2010, at 5:58 PM, Fred Sturm wrote: > Back to the touch scenario, putting the hammer back down, the feel > of the action from the moment of impact of the rep lever with the > drop screw through aftertouch is arguably the very most important > element. I just had some practical experience with a customer that confirmed this. He purchased a rebuilt Steinway A a couple weeks ago, new action parts, etc. I found it "chaotic" when I tried it out for him before purchase, but said I could deal with it fairly easily. First home visit I traveled and squared hammers, leveled strings and tuned. Second visit I regulated. Most of the regulation was evening things out (let off was near blocking to 4 mm, drop was 2 - 6 mm, rep springs were jumpy, aftertouch was a bit excessive and uneven). After I was done - "done for today, time to go home" - he sat down at it and asked what I had done to lighten the touch. It was "much easier to play." The answer is that, first, everything is much more consistent and predictable. But second, yes, I made it quite a bit lighter overall, but only with respect to the feel of the rep spring at the bottom of the keystroke. Contact time is later and shorter (less compression), and the spring resistance is less. Net effect is a very noticeable increase in control and experience of less resistance - lighter. I have harped on this in many posts over the years - the importance of drop and aftertouch - not just to be annoying, but because I believe it has far more effect than most people think. Not just the crisp feel of simultaneous drop and let off contact, not just the evenness of how much more the key goes down through and beyond that contact (though those are very important), but also with a very tactile aspect that has to do with weight resistance. And, BTW, this is perhaps the most important difference between the feel of a grand and an upright (this collection of things as part of the touch - obviously including the fact that the hammer is horizontal and providing counterweight). The touch at the bottom of an upright keystroke is completely different. Regards, Fred Sturm fssturm at unm.edu "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." Twain
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