[CAUT] F..riction

[Jim Busby]

Fred,

Interesting, and useful info.

Then, do you find the "perma-free" centers to be superior? IOW, is this something Steinway has over other types of bushings?

Best,
Jim Busby


From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Fred Sturm
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 9:08 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] F..riction

On Nov 29, 2010, at 3:45 PM, David Love wrote:


It's interesting to note the new trend on S/F resistance to very low levels in the neighborhood of 0-1 grams.  This trend seems to have latched onto the Stanwood protocols in order to make the action feel even more facile.  Personally, I think it's a mistake and while it does give a first impression of a very friendly and resistance free action the down side (for many, though not all) is an accompanying lack of control of both tone and touch.

            Yes, it is interesting. I was very skeptical at first, but my own experience has shown that for me and most of the pianists I deal with, it is a non-issue. I guess I have to modify by saying that this applies with pretty tight regulation parameters and pretty reasonable voicing, as that is where my experience lies. If the piano is quite brightly voiced, more friction might (but only might) make it more controllable.
            Intellectually I share the notion that a certain degree of friction in the various flanges is necessary, but so far experience isn't bearing this out in dealing with the current Steinway perma-free design, where, yes, 0-1 gm is the norm (however, it is possible to have even less friction than that, where you can get the flange itself to swing, and this IS a problem that must be dealt with - ie, there are limits). Not to say that there aren't clients who like a stiffer action with possibly more friction, but it is hard to parse between weight and friction in these cases as a rule.
            [aside: I have been reading Hipkins recently (1896 book, available on line at archive.org), and interestingly he comments that many pianists (of his time) think they should practice on heavy actions. But he points out that the best and most powerful pianists of his time, including Liszt and Anton Rubenstein, had grown up playing very light Viennese actions.]
            I find too little friction and too little weight easier to deal with than too much, as a pianist. The feel of too much rep spring strength (compensating for friction in the lever pinning) coupled by somewhat low drop is particularly annoying and problematic. It gets in the way of facile light figuration, especially. Certainly pinning those reps heavy makes it easy from the technician's point of view, to set springs so the hammer rises nicely in our artificial emulation. And I have found situations where heavier pinning was necessary to get the jack to re-set under the knuckle consistently. But in general, I have been migrating away from the notion of the need for a measurable 4-6 grams (or whatever similar parameter you choose) to make an action respond and be controllable.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu<mailto:fssturm at unm.edu>
http://www.createculture.org/profile/FredSturm

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