Pleyel Grand Regulation Questions

[Will Truitt]

To the List (particularly readers on the other side of the pond)

 

I'm regulating a 6' 6" Pleyel grand (serial no. 72F691).  I'm guessing it's
90 to 100 years old.  I haven't seen that many Pleyels, and this is the
first one I have regulated.  And there are some differences from standard
fare, at least on this one.  I don't have a digital camera, so you'll have
to bear with my descriptions.  

 

It is a double escapement action, but having both let off and hammer drop
adjustments. (the drop screw mechanism is in the shape of a T, and is
adjusted from the underside of the shank rather than above.   There are let
off dowels, but they are adjusted through round holes through the top of the
hammer rail.  Of course, this means you cannot adjust let off in the piano
but rather must be done on the bench.  (the pinblock is in the way!)  There
are no separate hammer flanges, but rather a brass rail for each section,
with a single center pin running through all the shank action centers.
Rather than a rounded knuckle as we normally see in modern grands, the
"knuckle" profile resembles an upright butt, with a rest felt beneath a
somewhat rounded off leather profile from which the jack escapes.  A rounded
upright shank exits this butt and the hammer is glued to it.  

 

The whippens look different too.  The whippen flanges screw to the whippen
rail from below.  This rail is quite thick and is covered with felt on top,
and doubles as the hammer rest rail.  The jack looks fairly conventional,
except there is no fore - aft adjusting button but there is the adjustment
for the height of the jack in the rep top lever window.  That window is what
I would call a half window, in that there is no back side to it, with the
butt leather resting on the front portion.  The repetition spring is a
tapered coil that goes into a round slot on the back side of the jack, and
is adjusted from above with a regulating screw.  

 

The question I would be asking of those of you who may have some experience
with these actions would be what kind of idiosyncracies should I be looking
for in adjusting this action?  I don't have any specs to work from.  What
kind of blow distance would be suggested?  Same for hammer drop, as well as
other regulation points.  

 

I do have some concerns about repetition.  I leveled the keys today and set
the let off.  I did test regulate a few notes and I did notice that I was
having some problems with cheating jacks upon a slow release of the key.
When the jack escapes, it rises rather steeply away from the butt leather.
Unless I make the rep spring very strong, the jack will hang up and not
return under the profile.  The height of the jack in the window did not seem
to affect this much.  I am guessing that this would be an action where a
shallower aftertouch would be desirable.  (Although that will have to be
moderated by the fact that it's summer and the lake is 20 feet away.  If I
set too shallow an aftertouch now, by January it won't cycle through let
off, I can guarantee you that).    

 

What kinds of regulating values are going to allow this style of action to
perform optimally?

 

For those of you who reply, thank you in advance.  

 

Will Truitt

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