[pianotech] S&S "D" Keys with Attachments on To

[Richard Brekne]

Hi William...

I think perhaps something along Stanwoods method of assembling
statistics would do the trick. Touchy - feely stuff as you put it just
plain leaves way to much room for .... shall we say "interpretation".
Thats the stuff disagreements without basis is made of.  Thing is....
when you come to think of it.... something along the lines of 99.6 % of
the worlds pianists actually don't have a problem with the keys as they
come out of the factory.  Perhaps thats an inconvenience for certain
piano techs... but there it is.  Kidding aside...  I think the subject
matter bears closer attention. Until such time as someone does... I
think I'll not jump on that particular bandwagon. At least not as far as
declaring it one of these universal <<truths>> we keep hearing about.

I'd suggest a place to start is to just find out just how stiff a key
needs to be for any given action before the rest of the action becomes
.... less stiff. Then perhaps we might see how pianists in large numbers
react to the sensation.  We may end up with another jiffy leads story
for all we know :)

Cheers... and its kinda nice to be back... at least for a bit.

RicB

William R. Monroe wrote:
> Hi Ric,
>
> Good to see you back.
>
> How would you suggest we quantify this flex coefficient?  The only thing I
> can imagine that would satisfy the quest for exacting numbers is something
> along the lines of what Hoadley does to find break strength.  Obviously not
> to that extent, but to accurately measure the flex in a keystick, it would
> seem like we'd have to get abusive on the part.  As with so many things in
> this industry, there is a place for the "touchy-feely" stuff, the Zen of
> key-stiffening if you will.  <G>
>
> Maybe we could simply clamp the front of a suspect keystick to a bench
> (tightly) with about the first inch supported and the rest of the keystick
> extending out over the open floor.  Then, hang a weight (how much could be
> figured by trial and error) from the key end.  Measure height to the floor
> (or rig up a rigid platform to extend under the key so it could be measured
> with a depth gauge/caliper/whatever) prior to weighting and after weighting.
> Keep a spreadsheed of different keysticks lenghts, and deflections and after
> a while one could develop a nice, quantified level of acceptable flex in a
> keystick.
>
> Sounds fun.  Maybe I'll do it.  <G>  Now, where did I put that time
> sheet.........
>
> William R. Monroe
>
>
>
>
> One understands the general rational to be sure. Its just that the whole
> thing has never really been even close to quantified in any real sense
> of the word. Then too... I don't really see pianists making any kind of
> a point out of this. If the general, albeit vague, consensus of pianists
> assessment is laid to bear on the subject... then this seems less then a
> necessary procedure.  I dont see it written in stone that the delay
> between key depression and hammer string contact that can be traced to
> key flexure is something pianists do not appreciate.  That said... I
> have a few Yamaha's laying around that have a horrible delay feeling on
> a hard blow... and key flexure has nothing to do with it.
>
> Not to dispute the desirability of stiffer keys on some instruments out
> of hand... I just think it would be valuable to better quantify the
> relationship between key stiffness, action compliance otherwise, and how
> pianists react to various configurations.
>
> Cheers
> RicB
>
>
>     The basis is that they flex too much and you lose power at the upper
>     end. When Steinway went to the accelerated action they removed the
>     lower shoe in order to make room for the bearing.  On a D, in
>     particular, with extra key length that reduction in height adds
>     unwanted flex and it is easily demonstrated as well as felt on hard
>     blows with a delay between key depression and hammer string
>     contact.  Restoring the original height of the key with an elongated
>     top shoe also restores much of the lost stiffness. Keys can be too
>     stiff, I suppose, but it is not likely to happen in this situation.
>
>     David Love
>     www.davidlovepianos.com
>
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