Soft Pedal Regulation

[Yardbird47@aol.com]

<<Steinway's states "...when the keyframe is in its shifted position, the
left string of the trichords is missed by the hammer".  But Steinway also
goes on further and says, "...a minimal shift is also acceptable so the
player uses only a different part of the hammer during play.  This results in
a tone of different color, rather than a change in volume...".
(Steinway & Sons Technical Reference Guide, page 45)>>

As Ron Conors said in ABQ, the former, Horowitz's preference, and the latter,
Rubinstein's. Actually on some pianos, the reedy quality developed by having
the LH string join in only sympathetically is too strong a flavor for many
pianists. For these pianos, the best U.C. is one which moves the hammer
striking surface slightly to the side. The principle here (if not in all
cases) is that the hammer should be voiceable in two distinct zones on its
strike surface: one for the standard position and the other for the U.C. In
all cases I set the maximum shift at 75% of the spacing between strings of a
treble trichord.

LRN4A440 (who remains nameless) rote, 12/4/95:
<<As a precaution, I try to always check and voice the hammers to it at
various measurements of depression so as to not have an embarrassing zinger
stand out more on half pedal than on quarter or whole.  Its remarkable how
one tiny hard spot on a hammer can create those metalic nightmares during a
concert when all seemed fine with the soft pedal fully on or off. >>

This is what breaking the LH corner of the hammer during the filing is for.
It also helps if the LH strings are to be cleared, that the hammers all jump
off the LH strings at the same point in the shift. Check back with the PTJ
 8/90 (p.16) for a way of checking this. My technique is only slightly
changed in that after setting the maximum shift at 75% of string space, I
insert a 10mil brass shim between the keyframe and the shift stop screw, gang
mute out several octaves of C&RH strings and listen for the LH string with a
Renner flange spacer in hand.

Then there are the pianists who go for the UC at full volume. (I've only
heard tell of them.)

Bill Ballard, RPT     "Out here on the food chain, you either diet,

NH Chapt, PTG               die, or dine" .......folksinger Mark Graham