Gentlemen..(long)

[PDtek@aol.com]

Phil:
To respond to your questions;

1.> Do players make up 15% of current piano sales? I haven't seen the exact
figures, but it wouldn't surprise me. Music Systems research (PianoDisc) is
one of the biggest success storys in the last ten years and has given the
piano market in general a big shot in the arm.

2.>As an apprentice, are you taking on to much with PianoDisc at this time? I
suppose it depends on the individual and how much you can handle. You should
have a good knowledge of piano technology before you get into PianoDisc,
since once a piano becomes a player, the interaction between the piano and
the system requires a thorough knowledge of both if you are going be able to
make needed adjustments and repairs.

3.> Why does it sound like the player sustain is doing a 1/2 pedal effect?
The answer is that it shouldn't be. The large sustain solonoid located under
the piano (in grands) should always lift the dampers completely off the
strings, but at the same time, not lifting any farther than neccesary.
Excessive travel will cause noise during sustain operation. Anyway, the most
common reason for the dampers not lifting far enough is a pedal solonoid out
of regulation. Sometimes just transporting the piano can knock this
adjustment out of whack, or hours of operation compressing the felt can
create lost motion and this 1/2 pedal effect. Usually adjusting the long hex
nut on the pedal solonoid until the damper lift tray is nuzzeled up to the
damper levers will take care of the problem. One other possibility is that
the pedal hold and strike force srews need to be regulated to give the
solonoid more power to lift the dampers. I would not attempt this however
until you have learned the system.

4.> It sounds like the let-off needs regulation? Only if it sounds like it
needs it when the piano is played manually. If the hammers blubber only when
the system is playing the piano, it probably means that the key solonoid
rails are set to low below the rear of the keys which means that under these
circumstances, the travel of the key solonoid is insufficiant to attain full
key dip. Remove the key slip and watch while a disc plays to see if the keys
make it all the way down to the punchings. If not, this is most likely the
problem and the rails need to be raised as high as possible without any
winking keys. This should be done by a certified tech.

5.> At low volume settings, the keys barely move and don't play. On this
piano the low rails may be a contributing factor but generally this is
because the minimum velocity program has not been run. On this program, each
individual key solonoid is regulated for the minimum force that will ever be
applied to the key during playback to insure that notes will not drop out at
low volume settings.

The sad fact is that the tech that did this installation did not do a good
job. (Either that or the piano has gone way too long without service) Just
like the in the world of piano techs, there are the good and the bad and the
ugly. When the PianoDisc systems first came out, everyone and their dogs were
putting them in with sometimes grim results. If the system is not installed
and set up properly, it makes the product and everyone involved look bad. So
several years ago, PianoDisc started to require factory training and
certification to reduce these problems and it has helped. PianoDisc will only
honor its warranty if the system is serviced by a certified tech.

I hope that this info has helped.

Dave Bunch
Dave Bunch Piano Service
PDtek@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/pdtek/piano.html