regulation

[Laurence Beach]

I have tuned many new, small uprights, most commonly Yamahas.  These
pianos are supposedly regulated by a tuner contracted by the store.  What
I find, though, is that the regulation is either ignored, or regulated to
'strange' specs.  I find that the backchecks are set so far back that the
hammers check almost at the normal resting position for even a medium
blow, and that the capstans are set so high that they do not return to
underneath the hammer butt when the key is released slowly.  As a result,
repetition on these pianos is very poor.  The owners often think that this
is normal, and are resistant to pay for regulation (that should have been
done previously?).  Is there a reason for regulating the actions to these
unusual specs that I am missing?

Laurence Beach
Vancouver BC, Canada.