Lighten Touch

[David Stanwood]

Dear Ed,

It's interesting to read all the great comments to your simple need of 
making the touch lighter..

I just want to add my 2 cents after reading all the posts...

I want to respond to a common way of making the touch lighter which is to 
make the hammer lighter....

This quote from "Talking  About Pianos" which was put out by Steinway in 
1982 is telling:

"When I find an action that is comfortable, the tone is usually too thin 
because the hammers are smaller, and so the sound is smaller, too."  -  
Alicia de Larrocha

I've found that if hammers are lighter than 1/2 medium, the tone suffers.  
In my experience I find that much better sound comes from hammers that are 
top medium to 1/2 high in most pianos.

This new lingo I'm using is an alternative to the Hammer Pound rating which 
has been shown to tell very little of the actual weight of hammers.. I've 
posted hammer weight zones at my web site which give actual hammer weights 
in reference to high/medium/low zones.  You all can access these standards 
of reference at:

http://www.stanwoodpiano.com/tech.htm

>From my view the biggest culprit to heavy action besides friction is a 
mismatch between hammer weight and overall action leverage.  Learning how to 
assess hammer weight and leverage as well as re-setting capstan lines to 
improve leverage are valuable skills worth the time taken to learn.

David C. Stanwood






>From: "Ed Carwithen" <edwithen@oregontrail.net>
>Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
>To: "Piano Tech List" <pianotech@ptg.org>
>Subject: Lighten Touch
>Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 16:01:01 -0700
>
>Dear Friends:
>
>   I am to work on a Kurtzman Grand Friday.  Clean, regulate, repair lyre 
>braces.  Owner asked if I could make the touch any lighter.  I said     
>"Sure, No Problem!!!!"
>
>Ok,      now how do I do that?  The dampers are already lifting at about 
>half blow.  It does seem somewhat sluggish.  Please give me your best 
>advice...
>
>Ed Carwithen
>John Day, OR


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