Bluthner Patent Action

[John Delacour]

At 12:24 +0200 27/9/08, StŽphane Collin wrote:

>I thought that set off and let off were different things.  Kind of 
>one is pushing, the other is pulling.  I can be wrong.

'Set-off' is the English equivalent of the American 'let-off'.

However, with regard to pushing and pulling, I gather that in a pipe 
organ action what the Germans call the Abstrakt is called the Sticker 
in English if it pushes and the Tracker if it pulls.

At 18:46 -0700 26/9/08, Jurgen Goering wrote:

>John D: It seems we are also close to compiling a glossary of piano 
>action terms for UK and US English:
>...
>...
>...
>baize - cloth
>washer - punching
>etc - etc
>Maybe we are onto something!

Let's not go there for the moment!!  But as to  baize and cloth, I 
wrote 'this action also uses a black cloth washer on top of the front 
touch baize'.  I meant what I said.  The main 'punching' on the front 
pin on most pianos is made of baize and is called in English either 
the front baize or the keybed (erroneously used rcently in America 
for 'key bottom').  The backtouch is usually also of baize.  Baize 
comes in various thicknesses and hardnesses but is always baize, and 
not 'cloth' or 'felt'.  'Cloth' in the piano comprises bushing cloth, 
facing (or bearing) cloth etc.  Flannel of a loose-woven quality no 
longer available is also used in some older pianos.  All these are, 
of course, cloths, but a piano technician needs to be more specific. 
It's amazing how many people in the trade don't even know the 
difference between felt and cloth, let alone the other distinctions.

JD