A request from Chile

[David Love]

Fernando:

It is difficult to give advice without having some data on the action.  The
solution to the problem may be very involved and it might be quite simple.
There would be no point to ship the action to the US if you could reduce the
weight by just adding some lead.  If the current leading is not excessive
(i.e. does not exceed accepted front weight maximums) you might be able to
solve the problem that way.  That would be relatively simple.  On the other
hand, if the geometry is set up wrong and wholesale changes to the action
are required, this is more difficult.  The measurements are not hard to
take.  If you have the articles, look them over again and see if it is not
possible.  Without enough data to make some determination as to the general
course of action, you will not be able to get any real advice.  Because the
costs of bringing someone to you or the action here are so high, it would
probably be worthwhile to try and take the measurements.

David Love
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fernando Rosas" <frosas@deloitte.cl>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: January 07, 2002 1:05 PM
Subject: RE: A request from Chile


> David:
>
> Thanks for your answer. I'll tell you how did I get up to this instance. I
> started this story in 1999. I received the piano (Yamaha C1) in january
> 2000, after a 6 months wait. I couldn't play the piano before, since
Yamaha
> has not this model in stock. When I first played it, I found its action
> heavy. I asked in this list and received a lot of advise. With all this
> knowledgement I contacted an authorized Yamaha technician in Panama. He
came
> to my house in september 2000 and made a lot of friction reduction work.
> Actually, he was a very good technician. After that, I recognized a very
big
> change in the action weight. But not as much as I expected. Now I believe
> that the action itself is heavier than actions I like. I've ever liked
light
> actions, since my hands are small. Furthermore, I'm not a professional
> pianist, so I don't want to develop big muscles in my hands.
>
> Last year (2001) I contacted David Stanwood and started to know about his
> work. I've received from him the 2 articles you mention, and I studied
them
> and find that it can be the solution I'm looking for. I like all other
> aspects on my piano so I want to solve the only issue that turns me off
> about it. I hope that it won't be necessary to make a big transformation,
> because I know Yamaha pianos are well constructed. But just the few to
make
> me feel good playing it. The amount of work must be determined by an
expert.
> I'm not an expert and we haven't experts here, so I contacted this list in
> order to get it. I'm not sure to be able to make the measurements in a
good
> way. The only thing I know is that I feel that the action is heavy,
> regardless why.
>
> I hope you can understand me after this explanation.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Fernando
>
> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]En nombre de
> David Love
> Enviado el: Lunes, 07 de Enero de 2002 13:14
> Para: pianotech@ptg.org
> Asunto: Re: A request from Chile
>
>
> Before I got involved in shipping an action to the states or paying for a
> technician to come all that way, I think you should really try to
determine
> what the specific problem (complaint) is and what you expect to accomplish
> by Stanwood's method.  Yamaha's are generally fairly well designed, in my
> experience, and though they might need some refining, usually the hammer
> weight/leverage relationships are fairly good.  Smoothing out existing
> strike weights in order to get a more uniform leading pattern is not
> difficult if the set up is okay to begin with.  Even shipping just the
keys
> in order to have someone move leads around seems like a waste of money.
You
> might try and find someone with whom you can consult, be willing to pay
them
> for their time, take some specific measurements of a number of sample keys
> and see if you have a problem that warrants the expense of shipping the
> action to the states.  My guess is that wholesale changes are probably not
> necessary and that  some refinements may do the job.
>
> I would begin by reading the several PTJ articles that Stanwood has
written
> (if you can get them).  They are in the issues June 1996 and
Feb/March/April
> 2000.  These will give you a fundamental working knowledge of what
Stanwood
> is trying to accomplish and some practicum in how to approach action
> problems.  You will need to purchase an accurate gram scale and perhaps
his
> platform for taking measurements (something you should have anyway if you
> are going to do action work).  Once you become familiar with the
terminology
> and measurement methods, I think you will find that the system is not such
a
> great mystery.  Though I am sure that Stanwood has certain proprietary
> procedures, you can get excellent results using ideas and methods that are
> currently published.
>
>
>
> David Love
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fernando Rosas" <frosas@deloitte.cl>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: January 07, 2002 6:50 AM
> Subject: RE: A request from Chile
>
>
> > Farrell:
> >
> > The problem is that here we don't have qualified technicians. They are
all
> > self made technicians and they like (or need) to improvise with pianos.
> They
> > learn on the run. What I need is a technician who knows exactly what he
or
> > she is doing. BTW, Yamaha is only a shop here, doesn't have service. So
I
> > believe that it wouldn't be sufficient shipping the keys only.
> Furthermore,
> > in such a precise work, with many related components, I would think that
> it
> > must be applied considering the entire action.
> >
> > Thanks for your advise.
> >
> > Fernando
> >
> > -----Mensaje original-----
> > De: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]En nombre de
> > Farrell
> > Enviado el: Lunes, 07 de Enero de 2002 11:04
> > Para: pianotech@ptg.org
> > Asunto: Re: A request from Chile
> >
> >
> > Consider also that all geometry changes (if any) and hammer
> leading/trimming
> > can be done by any competent/qualified tech. The only thing you will
need
> to
> > ship to David or one of his authorized Touchweight installers would be
the
> > keys for leading (keys would be MUCH easier to ship???).
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jon Page" <jonpage@mediaone.net>
> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> > Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 8:10 AM
> > Subject: RE: A request from Chile
> >
> >
> > > Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each venture:
> > > Crating the action and shipping may be less than paying a tech's
> expenses.
> > >
> > > Is the action too heavy?  Just what is it about the action which you
are
> > > dissatisfied?
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Jon Page,   piano technician
> > > Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.
> > > mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net
> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > > At 08:28 AM 1/7/2002 -0300, you wrote:
> > > >Jon:
> > > >I have considered that possibility, but when I asked for shipping the
> > action
> > > >it appears complex and expensive. They consider it as an importation,
> so
> > > >there are internation taxes involved. Ideas are wellcome.
> > > >Key covers are made of plastic, so it doesn't matter. Models from C3
> and
> > up
> > > >have Ivorite, an Ivory-like surface.
> > > >Regards,
> > > >Fernando
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>