Apologies for confusing information relating to Allen Wright's remarks on the `Graf' fortepiano with the noisy front key bushings...the top-of-the-key hardwood buttons I mentioned, refer, of course, to the balance rail mortices, and not the front bushings! When I said that Graf did not use any hardwood `shoes' under the keybushings this was correct...the front bushing was carefully lined with soft leather throughout Graf's career, two lining pieces neatly folded onto the bottom of the key at each side were sufficient to effectively reduce play, wear and noise. In Graf's earlier pianos he used a straight line of front bushing pins, then changed to a staggered line, so accidentals were pinned near the front, sometime around 1825 or so. Similar change from round to oval pins at about the same time, brass rod probably hammered flat to get the right cross section. The Viennese action is particularly sensitive to lateral sloppiness in the keys, since the hammers are key mounted, so a good front bushing is crucial to obtain consistent tone. Earlier fortepianos were guided by pins between the keys at the back, or tongues in a rack behind the keys. Stephen Birkett (Fortepianos) Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos Waterloo, Ontario, Canada tel: 519-885-2228 fax: 519-763-4686
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