drop adjustment

[thepianoarts]

Tim,

Here is my view...

When we understand what drop is...that is to say, what its function is, we
will have gone a long way toward determining how much is necessary. In other
words, learn 'why' first...'how much' then can be intelligently determined
for the particular piano.

     The dorp screw stops the balancier (rep lever) from pushing the hammer
against the wire. For example, if the drop screw was not there, there would
be a chance that, if the hammer did not check, and the key remained down,
(which may occure during soft playing,) the hammer would rebound off the
wire, come down and hit the spring loaded rep lever, and bounce back to the
string. The hammer could also 'block' against the wire, being pushed there
by the unencumbered rep lever.
    We need the rep lever, but we don't want the above to happen, so as
Wally Brooks says, we introduce the 'stop' screw.

Understanding the boundries of drop... too much and too little

Too much drop:  If the drop screw is engaged early, there is energy wasted
at the end of the key stroke, to engage the rep lever deeper. This does not
seem like a big deal, unless one is trying to play softly, or if someone
plays the piano with a ight touch, like a child. But efficency is everything
for fine regulation, and wasted energy here is cumbersome to the pianist.


Too little drop:  Too little drop is more noticable, because of the
occurance of rebounding hammers.

Food for thought...
One could choose more drop, in favor of adding the extra spring push from
the further engaged rep lever. This would only be useful on a light blow. We
would be extending the drop screws function, to aid in improving the touch
adjustment for soft playing only, in a particular piano.

Poor after touch...Do you mean too little? This would be the most common
state. Do you know the reason for, and the boundries of after-touch, and how
to determin it?


Dan Reed

Dallas Texas Chapter



on 2/13/01 7:59 PM, Tuner1956@AOL.COM at Tuner1956@AOL.COM wrote:

> Hello List:
> Could someone shed some light on gauging the proper amount of
> drop for grand regulation.  I'm working on a Yamaha with poor after touch.
> Any help would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> Tim / PTG Associate
>