Celeste la vie

BobDavis88@aol.com BobDavis88@aol.com
Fri, 28 Mar 1997 13:06:20 -0500 (EST)


Oops, sorry for the last message; I hit the wrong button. Anyway, interesting
thread on celestes. I have been inside only one, the make of which I don't
remember but the maker of which is defunct. The other item of regulation I
haven't seen mentioned is the tension of the springs which retrieve the
hammers. As I remember, that tension affects the resistance of the key and
therefore the feel to the finger, even when the "letoff" is even from key to
key. That is, the regulation feels even only if the spring tension is even.
On the piano it's sort of analogous to downweight, I suppose, except that
since the hammer is acting against a spring instead of gravity, it's really
sensitive to velocity.  If the springs aren't even, it's easy for the note to
fail.

On the instrument we worked on, a couple of springs were broken,  and we had
to improvise. Does anyone know of a source for appropriate springs?
Bob




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