Del, You've got it - that's why I said "highly polishing". A good, solid matte finish is tops. (Sorry.) Best. Horace At 12:45 PM 7/16/97 -0700, you wrote: >Horace Greeley wrote: >> >> Folks, >> >> Carefully putting on my asbestos suit, I must (strongly) disagree with the >> practice of highly polishing keytops and/or sharps. >> >> Other than the normal complaints about tuning, voicing and regulation, too >> smooth a key surface is the single most common complaint I have heard from >> pianists in over 30 years of work. This list would include players all the >> way from older artists like Rubenstein (who used hair spray), Istomin (who >> still sands keys), and Rudolf Serkin (who mostly grumbled) through more >> contemporary artists like Hough (who constantly wipes the smallest bit of >> slick spot), to the ordinary bread-and-butter client. >> >> There is no question but that nasty, scratched-up, dirty keys are something >> more than a minor eyesore annoyance. On the other hand, with stage >> temperatures easily exceeding 80 (F), I've seen artists as otherwise >> sure-footed as Magaloff struggling. >> >> A limited frame of reference, perhaps, but... >> >> Best to all. > > >Horace, > >You're right, it's not just looks. > >The process I described of sanding & lightly buffing -- very lightly >buffing, the finished keytop has a soft mat look to it -- is the same >one I used to set up the various concert pianos I've serviced over the >years. > >Except for Rubenstein (who still sprayed his hair spray, without >comment) I had very few complaints about keys that were too slick. > >ddf > > >
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