[CAUT] Crescendo punchings

[Mark Wisner]

Not all punchings ARE created equal.  Back when I worked for the other Japanese piano manufacturer, we used, and stocked, a firmer (less compressible) set of punchings for the 9 foot grands.  These punchings for the 9's transmitted more action noise and so were considered too noisy for pianos not on the stage.  All other models used a softer type.  Perhaps this practice is more common than I thought

Mark Wisner

 for the concert grands but  
-----Original Message-----
>From: Jim Busby <jim_busby at byu.edu>
>Sent: Dec 15, 2010 5:54 PM
>To: Ed Sutton <ed440 at mindspring.com>, "caut at ptg.org" <caut at ptg.org>
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Crescendo punchings
>
>Ed,
>
>We did do something like that. Not as contrived though. We traded out several notes and had people play. Sometimes there was a noticeable difference. Sometimes not so much.
>
>All Steinway punchings are not created equal, it seems. The Steinway punchings on the last O and an M we bought were very different than those on the D.  The D punchings were very firm, and when I've traded them out with Crescendos there didn't seem to be much of a difference. O and M punchings were more "mushy", as it was put, or compressible. On our Shigeru 9' the punchings are also very firm: Woven, and not like the Crescendos, but very firm, nice. ALL smaller practice room grands had less firm punchings.
>
>We have a spring loaded gauge that we use to measure bushing cloth, etc. and when we put the Crescendo punchings in it, it compresses about .010 to .020 less than standard green punchings of about the same thickness. I know it's very unscientific, but we let the gauge down on the punching slowly, then after it stops on its own we lightly tap it a few times until it stops compressing to see how much farther it will go. This is how we "measured" the compression. Probably a bogus measurement, but at least it did show that they compressed more in that gauge.
>
>The bottom line for me seems to be that the pianos with "firmer" punchings seem to feel better than "mushy" ones, at least to folks here. Piano faculty all commented on how much "firmer" the action felt. One said "crisper". Most just said it responded better or felt better. One of our top piano faculty was not told that anything was changed (I know him well enough to do that) and he stopped me in the hall and said "thanks for working on my piano. It feels great!" I did nothing but change the punchings and make the dip and aftertouch the same as before.
>
>Jim
>
>
>
>From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ed Sutton
>Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 5:53 PM
>To: caut at ptg.org
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Crescendo punchings was RE: aftertouch
>
>Hey, Jim,
>Why not set up some test pianos with alternating octaves using Crescendo and standard punchings?
>To be comprehensive, you'd need to compare at least three different thicknesses of standard punchings, but for a start you could use factory Steinway punchings and Crescendo.
>Don't say anything, just set up the piano and see if anyone comments!
>Ed Sutton
>