Re Damper Weight

[Kenneth Sloane]

                      Subject:                              Time:  12:38 PM
  OFFICE MEMO         Re Damper Weight                      Date:  11/27/95

-------------ORIGINAL POST--------------------

I lost the original post! However, it was a question that asked how the weight
of the damper action figured into the touch of the piano?

-----------------MY REPLY-----------------

I think it is generally accepted that the mass and friction of an action are
felt by the pianist mostly at the beginning of the key stroke. It is at this
point that the static friction of the action and the inertia of the at rest
components are overcome. After that, the inertia of the moving action parts
help to deal with "the rest" of the friction, the movement of the damper
action, and getting the hammer to the string. I know this is an
over-simplification and does not account for resistance at let-off, resistance
of the repetition lever spring (remember, spring resistance is progressive,
increasing as you continue to tighten the spring), etc. etc.; but I hope it
will make sense to some readers.

An interesting and illuminating trivia point about Steinway's grand damper
actions is their change from using a spring loaded damper action to a weighted
action (I called Steinway to get an exact date on this and will post the info
when I get it). The spring loaded racks used rather heavy springs all the way
up to the treble section. There was an interim period where they used light,
helper springs in the first 28 notes of the B's and D's, but now they use the
unsprung, Renner damper actions in all their pianos (someone out there correct
me if I'm wrong). I was told by Fred Drasche that they made the switch to the
weighted action because it made the hammer actions feel better. I suppose that
the spring loaded racks keep the underlevers against the key and impart the
weight of the underlever and tension of the spring more readily to the key.
When we rebuild the pianos here at Oberlin with the old, sprung racks, we
always reduce the tension on these springs to almost nil and still get good
damping. The advantage of doing this is that the damper action does not get
into the "feel" of the key.

Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory