K & C Problem

[Richard Brekne]

Avery... you say you aggree with the heaviness... before getting into anything
about leads, or whippen lift springs.. did you check the touchweight ? Do you
know how much friction you are dealing with ? Increase in whippen lift spring
tension lowers downweight and upweight. Tho it seems like it actually lowers
downweight a bit more (just a feeling I have). I wouldnt start fooling around
with the leads until you have all friction problems solved and the action
regulated. I have seen (on more then one occasion) K&Cs come in out of the box
with like 70 grams downweight, and only 16-18 grams up. Most often really tight
centers. Pulling the staples out of the hammers, a good filing,  and reshaping
the tails also helps if you just plain have to much weight. Springs shouldnt
really be neccessary, but as long as you got them my advice is to keep them
weak, as they tend to weaken with time anyways, and solve the problem by
regulation and balancing the mass in the action.

Richard Brekne
I.C.P.T.G.  N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway


Avery Todd wrote:

> List,
>
>     Went to look at a new Kohler & Campbell grand (5'1" size-can't remember
> the model)
> in a church. The pianist is complaining about heaviness. I agree.
>     However in the process of looking it over, I discovered that there are
> NO key leads
> whatsoever, until B3. Coincidentally, the wippens up to B3 have helper
> springs. Is this
> a "correct" way to weight the keys, using the springs instead of the leads?
> My guess
> is no but I've never seen or heard of this before. What _is_ the correct
> way to lead keys
> when helper springs are used?
>     Beginning at B3 there are 4 leads in the keys for an octave or so, then
> 3, etc.
> tapering off, so I suspect the hammers might be a little heavy for this
> piano and/or
> there's a geometry problem but at this point, that's just a guess. Anyone
> know what
> hammers are used on K & C's?
>     Any info about the "leading/spring" thing would be appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Avery