Weighty Problem /make a U1 heavier

[Michael Jorgensen]

Hi Cliff,
     I would start by changing the acoustics.  A heavy blanket or
insulation placed behind the piano makes the pianist work harder to get
tone creating an illusion of heavier touch.  If this is not good enough,
voicing the piano down would be next before making any action changes. 
Any action changes should be notated in the piano so they can be undone
at a future time if required.  This will aid future technicians in
diagnosis.
-Mike Jorgensen RPT

   AnMaurer family wrote:
> 
>          My client has a Yamaha U1 (upright) that I service regularly.
> This piano has been very consistant and my client has been very happy
> with it. On my last service on this piano though, the lady asked me a
> question that I usually don't hear very often. She asked if I could make
> the action heavier. It seems that her son, who is the pianist at the age
> of 12, has become quite good . He entered his first piano competition
> and had great difficulty playing on the competition piano. It was a
> grand that was at a local piano dealer's recital hall. I assume that it
> was a Steinway because he is a Steinway dealer.
>  Anyway , the boy complained that the piano played exceedingly heavy and
> that he couldn't play his chosen piece properly. Apparently none of the
> participants could rehearse on this piano , so they had to play cold
> turkey.
>         I explained the major differences between her U1 and a full
> sized grand and that if her son continued to become more accomplished
> on the piano that she really should consider upgrading. Her response was
> that they didn't have enough room for a grand , much as thay would like
> to have one. Then she reitorated her question.
>         My experience with action improvement has always been with
> trying to make actions play easier ,or should I say with as little
> frictional resistance as possible. How can I solve this customers
> problem without radically changing what I find is a fine working action?
> 
>                             Tunefully,
>                                     Cliff Maurer (Lunytuner)