Hi, Chris, Short of switching hammers/actions, stringing, or whatever, I don't think it would quite be possible to do this fundamentally (although David Stanwood has demonstrated effective transformations to touch and voicing using binder clips on hammer shanks). With two midi enabled instruments this might work, not concisely, still with a single controller - perhaps one or the other - and with its particular idiosyncracies. However, one isn't necessarily restricted to the modern template (itself a little dated, IMO) so far as actions, where several antique designs (and, I think at least two modern ones) afford many of the common features, with certain differences for instance in lower inertia, efficient control of friction, lower or variable touch, shallower key dip, durable and simpler regulation, while not necessarily all in one design (could be). Certainly such an action wouldn't reproduce but a few fp features, and might annoy purists of either persuasion but probably not performers, anyhow. (An incremental damper lift shouldn't be difficult to implement.) Personally, I much prefer the overall sound of straight strung grands: projection and definition is very different, pleasing and not at all antique to my ears (and where it seems oblique, then over stringing were conceived to gain bass string length for rectangular instruments). Regards, Clark
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC