Question posed by pianist: >>>Is there any way to adjust the key depth on a piano so the key response happens more at the surface?<<< ======================================================== Don Mannino wrote: There are just too many possibilities for why this pianist is asking this question. A high-mass action, especially with mis-matched leverage and / or weighting will make the pianist feel that they must go too deep to play lightly / softly. Excess friction at the knuckle could also generate this complaint. Improper regulation (of course) could be involved - you didn't say if you personally know it to be in good regulation, of if that comment came from the pianist, who may not really know. You can decrease the hammer blow and key dip, but it's not likely the pianist will like what is lost in the process. And repetition would probably suffer. Sounds like it could be a fun project! A pianist who is asking this kind of question is probably pretty sensitive, and could be satisfying to work for. ======================================================== MY REPLY: Thanks for the thoughts. I have personally regulated this action and made measurements (charted for accuracy). It is important to regulate, check the friction, geometry, and matching of the leverage and/or weighting, before trying to remedy problems. This piano started as a disaster. Nothing had been done to it in the 5 years of it's life, but a terrible voicing job. I'm convinced there were problems from the factory. The pianist was told the piano needed to break in. I think 5 years of steady use is long enough. This piano played like a truck and had no repetition. I hesitate to say what I did to remedy the major problems with this action, as it does take ten techs to screw in a light bulb. BUT, I did find a terribly regulated action, matched leverage to light hammers, low friction, and geometry that was somewhat suspect. Key ratio was fine, as was wippen ratio. Shank ratio was suspect, as it varied widely. Hammers were set out on the shank from 129mm in the high treble to 131.5 mm in the bass, with less and more in between. Because of knuckle placement the shank ratio wasn't right with the hammers out that far on the shank. After listening to the piano, I could tell the areas the shank ratio varied were also the areas the tone and control varied. I moved the hammers in on the shanks to 128 mm (still about a 7.1:1 ratio on this piano), regulated & voiced, and the action worked nicely. The sound has became brighter since I did the work, but rechecking the strike point & steaming should work great. Maybe this isn't how others would solve the problem, but that's how it panned out for me. I only met the pianist this summer and he his very sensitive to the instrument. I don't know how he stood playing this S&S B as it was. He has worked very diligently to better himself and this last summer won an international competition in Paris (who knows what competition). Because people in his area and school are now recognizing his skill, he is able to get the work done on pianos he needs. It has been very gratifing to work with him, even though we have trouble at times talking the same language. As one problem gets solved another comes up, but we both feel we are on the right path. This all started with his complaint of no repetition. He has the advantage of playing in different parts of the country on different pianos and being sensitive to how they feel when he plays them. It has been fun working with him. He can now get things done he has needed and I can help him realize those changes are not totally impossible. His original question could be a question about actually changing the mechanics of a piano or it could be he has noticed a change that occurs from climate. Climate changes happen here in a very short time. I wanted to make sure I had all the mechanics angles covered. I know this pianist's school doesn't have the money, but I would love to put one of David Stanwood's action's in this S&S B. This particular person would really appreciate it. Tim Coates
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