Jon Page wrote: > At 11:39 PM 5/17/2002 +0200, you wrote: > >Jon Page wrote: > > > > > > > > For instance, if your lower the SW of note 16 from 11.9 to 10.3. > > > The SBR is presently 5.8 (we'll call it 6). > > > >But Jon... his Ratio is around 5.5 for whites and close to 6 for blacks > >otherwise. It would seem to me the average SBR for the whites would ask for > >about the SW he has.... or what ? > > No, it stays the same because BW changes proportionally with SW alteration > and consequently SBR. > Wait a sec Jon... you seem to be answering a different question then the one asked. We KNOW already that BW changes with SW alteration, thats not at question. But wait..... "consequently SBR" ??? .... you said yesterday... "The SBR will stay relatively the same because the BW changes proportionally with the SW. " This seems quite the opposite to what you say today... you mind clearing that up ? In anycase... l dissagree with the need or desirablility to use such light hammers. And his ratio of 5.5 on whites can certainly take heavier hammers. Certainly tho the disscussion about how much mass is disirable, both hammer mass and consequently FW mass has been going on for years, and its curious to see even Stanwood licsenced folks evidently breaking into two camps here. > Besides, so what. You will never get the SBR of the sharps and naturals > equal unless you employ assist springs. > So the balance rail holes may be too close together, the front key lengths > might not be ideally proportional, This is not my experience. In every action I have done so far I have been able to either significantly improve the disparagy between sharps and flats, or nearly eliminate it. Assist springs are only neccessary if you want to lift more then your front weights will allow for given a BW spec. IMHO > knuckles are slightly askew. This is not late breaking news, from any > manufacturer. For all practical purposes, > to lighten the hammers will simply bring the action into a comfortable > playing level. We're not talking Carnegie Hall. And since when are hammer weights on the dividing line between heavy and medium weights big enough for Carnegie Hall ? I would be tempted to point out that this is a Church, and not a practice studio. :) Stanwood wants to install a set of hammers that are off the Smart Chart scale when he comes her, and thats just for a small hall on a S&S C. > Moving the sharp's capstans forwards may help, but so far that level of > expense has not been justified. Many pianos > have the sharp's KR .02 higher than the naturals. The question would be, > does the jack presently have sufficient > clearance of the knuckle to support a reduction in wippen travel induced by > capstan relocation. Not just what looks > good on paper. Bear in mind the effect of hammer wear on regulation in the > future. This is another one of those trade offs tho. And there are a few options no ?? You can opt for a bit extra height on the blacks, allow for a little extra dip, reduce striking distance, or even go in the direction of hammer knuckles as Bill Ballard suggested. Perfect jack travel and clearance is just as illusive as perfect blacks and whites ever were. Heck, even two parallel SBR set ups is an perfectly workable option if you want to come right down to it IMHO. > If the level of playing effort is still not acceptable to the church then > further advice can be given to alter the geometry but > for all intents and purposes lightening the hammers is what will give the > best results without replacing the wippens with > ones employing assist springs. Grin... you are beginning to remind me of Ed McMorrow and his LWHT philosophy. In any case its perfectly reasonable to set up a lower ratio and use heavier hammers and a bit more FW...heck he doesnt have any lead in those keys to begin with... he's already got back weighting problems an octave off the top note. > So it's either lighten the hammers or install wippens with assist > springs. Going around in circles about SBR, is just that. Nobody is going around in circles here, trying to clear up for a couple people what SBR is about is an ok thing to do is it not ? As for the rest... I cant buy it. There are always viable options, and in this case he's got an even SW curve, and an uneven and underdimensioned FW curve. I say go the other way around, and back off later as needed. > > Regards, > > Jon Page, piano technician > Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass. > mailto:jonpage@attbi.com > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html
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