[CAUT] practice rail

[dew2 at u.washington.edu]

I installed a Quiet-Keys rail in a Charles Walter studio in 1998. I admit to being skeptical at the start, but when I was done, it seemed to work pretty well. I've even serviced the piano a couple of times since, and it still works. It did take a bit of thought to get it all to work as well as I wanted, but not a bad job. The one thing I don't know is how much they actually use it. But I think I'd do it again in the sort of situation you describe.

Doug

On Thu, 5 Nov 2009, Fred Sturm wrote:

> He wants one so he can practice and not disturb the rest of his family. I am 
> not impressed by the retrofit kits I have seen. I'm thinking maybe of just 
> making a wood strip that would rest securely on the action brackets (grooves 
> to make it secure, and spacers fore and aft), that he could place and remove. 
> The piano in question is an old Steinway upright, with a split lid, so there 
> is easy access. And the customer is the sort who could handle it. But I'd 
> welcome some thoughts before I plunge in. (Yes, the letoff needs to be a bit 
> wide so as not to block hammers).
> 	I used one as a college student. I could practice piano at the same 
> time as my wife practiced harpsichord in the next room. Certainly not ideal, 
> but practical. Also good for middle of the night insomniacs.
> Fred
> On Nov 5, 2009, at 8:30 AM, Joe Goss wrote:
>
>> Hi Fred,
>> Ask Why They want the mute.
>> Personally my feeling is that it robs the upright ( PRESUMING ON MY PART ) 
>> of dynamic level on the fff  and causes the action to be less responsive 
>> due to larger let off needed so that the hammers do not block.
>> BTW is the regulation set so that the player can play soft as a whisper and 
>> loud as a trumpeting elephant?
>> Is this a Samick? No reflection negatively on the product, just thinking of 
>> a key problem easily solved.
>> Joe Goss BSMusEd MMusEd RPT
>> imatunr at srvinet.com
>> www.mothergoosetools.com
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred Sturm" <fssturm at unm.edu>
>> To: "College & University Technicians" <caut at ptg.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 8:10 AM
>> Subject: [CAUT] practice rail
>> 
>> 
>>> A customer has asked me to install a practice rail (muffler felt). I 
>>> haven't done this retrofit before. I see Jansen has one. Are there others? 
>>> Any advice, comments?
>>> Regards,
>>> Fred Sturm
>>> University of New Mexico
>>> fssturm at unm.edu
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
> fssturm at unm.edu
>
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