The knuckle mounting was moved from 16.5 to 17mm which allowed for a slightly higher strike weight. Of course, "no change" in the touchweight was not possible given the problem with the loose centers. The challenge was trying to determine what was really being sensed and it's a very hard question to answer, even for a very "aware" pianist. In the end, I really just decided to set it up the way I thought was best and that didn't stray too much from what was there and hoped for the best. I think we might underestimate the importance of setting up and controlling friction as a component of how the action feels. It is interesting that her first response was that the action was lighter. It was in terms of balance weight, was not in terms of down weight and was not in terms of friction. A 42g BW pushes it a little over the edge for me with the friction range I describe. If the friction edges up a little because you've achieved that BW with a higher strike weight, then it can get a bit cumbersome. Not that it couldn't be handled, but it becomes harder to play with total relaxation as the weight climbs. I thinks most pianists want to feel that they can achieve what they want without tension. For a big pianist it may not be a problem, but for many others it can create some discomfort, at least in my experience. David Love ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Ballard" <yardbird@vermontel.net> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: January 17, 2003 9:09 PM Subject: Re: More off the wall stuff At 8:46 PM -0800 1/17/03, David Love wrote: >An interesting follow up to this. As you recall the original action weighed >at 42g BW and 49 - 50g DW, i.e. very low friction. When I replaced the >hammers and shanks, I rebalanced the weight at 38g BW. With the new >friction readings that gave about a 51g DW in the middle. Changes to the FW >pattern were minimal 1-3 grams on average still in the 85% range of maximum. Sounds as though the new SWs were close to the old ones. If not, then the knuckle mounting distance stretched on the new shanks. I mean, a 4g shift in BW, with "changes to the FW pattern were minimal 1-3 grams on average still in the 85% range of maximum". >Recall that she didn't want any real change in the touchweight. I was curious about that term, who was supposed to define it, you or her? >When she first sat down she said, "Oh, it seems a little lighter". But after >she played it for awhile, she said "Well, I'm not really sure if >it's heavier or >lighter, but it feels like butter." Real quantifiable stuff, eh. She's feeling the friction, and it sounds as though you've got it well regulated. >Anyway, that was a good thing. Heavier or lighter, she felt that >she could feel >the key all the way through the stroke. As opposed to "fly-away hammers and keys" >She was happy. Confirms my current >sentiment about default settings: 38 g balance weight with a friction range >of 15 g in the bass to 10 g in the treble and FW's of about 85% of maximum >makes for a really nice action. That's a god profile, especially one to get the reputation of delivering reliably. >For concert instruments, I prefer to go up >to 40 g balance weight. The bit of adrenalin that performers get >neutralizes that extra bit of weight and keeps the action from running away >from them if they get too excited. My old (classical) saxophone teacher told me about reaching for a slightly harder reed at concert time, than the one he'd prepared the music with. I personally think that there's a large group of pianists who don't wouldn't be slowed down by the difference between 38 and 42. What I was remarking on was the choice you were giving us: friction or DW. DW is achieved with friction or BW (or both), and because of that would not be in an either/or trade-off with friction. I was wondering whether you were surveying people's comprehension of BW. RickyB of course is nuts. <g> Bill Ballard RPT NH Chapter, P.T.G. "I'll play it and tell you what it is later...." ...........Miles Davis +++++++++++++++++++++ _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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