SV: 1879 Steinway A (jacks)

[David Andersen]

>    I set the balancier height so that the jack can be felt to scrape the
> knuckle as it is softly triggered by a finger on the tender, and will return
> under simple spring pressure.  This assures me that there is no lost motion.
> Having the balancier carry as much weight as possible, with the jack still in
> contact, assures the most transparent escapement at ppp levels.  Since I set
> let-off as close to the string excursion zone as possible, this
> combination(along
> with drop set at the same distance as let-off) gives the greatest sensitivity
> possible without compromising power or repetiton.   I also favor springs that
> cannot be felt in the key when the hammer is released from check.
> Regards, 

This is perfect---100% agreement on this; it's food for a LOT of thought and
high-end instruction. The same level of intense paying attention, of
intuitive perception, that goes into concert tuning, or cutting hammers to
weigh +- 1/10 of a gram to each other, or making a bridge cap, pays off big
time when applied to action regulation.  Bravo, Ed.

David Andersen