Every Samick

[Kevin E. Ramsey]

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   =20
    I just wanted to put this out to the list.=20
    As some of you know, I get to work on a whole lot of new pianos, and =
there is something that's been bugging me for a while now.
    On just about every new Samick, and all their variants, I see the =
same old mistakes being made at the factory concerning the =
pedal-trapwork-damper systems, but especially on the really tiny little =
baby grands.
    On every single one, when you depress the pedal, and then strike the =
key, you will see no rise on the damper. If you depress the key, and =
then operate the pedal, you will see the damper rise up above keydip. If =
you depress the pedal, and then check the damper lift from there by =
lifting up on the damper with your fingers, you will find that the =
damper is jammed up against the rail. There is a capstan of sorts above =
the trapwork, but it's really a screw, which you can't get to without =
pulling out the trapwork lever; so you do this, screw out the screw =
about 2 to 3 mms, put it all back together, only to find that it hasn't =
made a bit of difference because it never was touching that screw to =
begin with. So you do this about three times until you get it right. ( I =
like to see the damper wink on the sharps, but not on the whites).
    Now you can set the up-stop rail above the dampers, so I pull the =
action and every single time I look at those damper wires, the bends are =
all over the place! No wonder most of the dampers are seating on the =
right side of the strings. The holes drilled in the underlevers don't =
seem to be uniform in the angle in which the wires go into the lever, =
some of the wires are going in at a rather acute angle, which helps =
account for some of the weird wire bends.
    Enough venting, what I want to know is; if a system has been in =
place long enough, where the pedal jams the underlevers up until they =
stop against the upstop rail, can't that possibly cause the pinning on =
the underlever flanges to bend, causing them to start seizing up? I've =
got a couple of customers with problems where you take out the dampers, =
lift the underlever flange, and it just stays there, in spite of the two =
big lead weights on it. I hit it with a dose of silicone oil/naptha mix, =
but I wouldn't be surprised to find that the pin's bent.
    On the smaller one's, like their 4'7" model 400, they've been =
putting plastic parts on their trapwork. Trouble is, all too often, when =
you're pulling the trapwork off to adjust the "capstan", when you put it =
back on, the bushing just falls out, because the glue they're using =
doesn't adhere to plastic. Luckily, we have a Piano-Disc installer at =
work, and I've been having him save me the same parts that are made of =
wood, and I just replace them when that happens.
    I know they sell 'em cheap, but it doesn't really take any more time =
to do it right the first time, as long as your workers have a clue as to =
what's right, and what's not.
    That's one of the reasons I like Japanese pianos, it's in their =
culture; to do it the wrong way would be to dishonor yourself and your =
family.



" I cut it twice, and it's still too short!"
Kevin E. Ramsey, RPT
ramsey@extremezone.com=20



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