Key weighting

Wimblees@AOL.COM Wimblees@AOL.COM
Thu, 5 Nov 1998 09:17:38 EST


In a message dated 98-11-05 05:37:43 EST, you write:

<< I told her that it's possible that her teacher's piano has a heavier
 touch because it is out of regulation.  Anyhow, I stopped by the customer's
 place to do a touchweight measurement and sure enough, the touch on her
 piano was pretty light.  The downweight was 40 grams and the upweight was
 OK at 25 grams.  Now, I need to know if anyone has done this to an upright
 before and how should I go about giving her piano a heavier touch.  I feel
 that just attaching lead weights to the back of the key would make the
 piano uncontrollable,  much like a seesaw with a light person on one end
 and a heavy person on the other end.  I have tuned this customer's piano
 for the past 10 years and want to keep her.  Any suggestions will be
 greatly appreciated.
 
 Ted Simmons
 Merritt Island, FL >>


The question you need to ask is, is this customer a good enough player to
warrent going through all the time and trouble to correctly add weight to the
keys. Sometimes, the best solution might be the simplest. Add some jiffy leads
to the back fo the keys, and see if she likes the result. If she is a good
player, perhaps talking to her about upgrading to a grand piano with a stiffer
action might be a better way to go. 

Willem Blees


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