Upweight Maximums

[Bill Ballard]

At 9:39 AM +0200 4/7/03, Richard Brekne wrote:
>In either case we are also dealing with a big difference in Hammer mass to
>make the feel of the action "light" as it were. In the  low FW / high BW
>scenario we are going to need pretty light hammers to keep from 
>getting sky-high
>BW. And in the low BW / high FW we are going to need heavier hammers 
>to keep the
>BW from dropping through the floor.

I was referring to it as a trick question because you didn't tell us 
where the SWs were. We were to deduce that, and where we placed our 
bet was going to tell you something. But in fact, the Lady (or is it 
the Tiger) wasn't being specific with you, so you were no better 
informed than the rest of us.

High SWs are going to show up as extra friction, well out of line 
with "8-10g". So I bet on low SWs. Which is why low FWs would have to 
be responsible for such high BWs. Which heads off in the direction of 
LHTR. That was the scenario I was assuming you were handing us for 
consideration.

The two scenarios I handed back illustrated two flavors of 
"lightness". The first one, inertial, doesn't care about BWs, only 
FWs (and yes, SWs and SBRs). Lightness in the gravitational balancing 
of the action doesn't care how heavy the hammers are, nor the FWs: 
all that matters is that the difference between the weight on the 
front side of the key is kept to a specified amount below the weight 
on the backside of the key. IOW, BW.

The more experienced pianists seem to notice lower inertia, as the 
"lighter scenario.

>The amount of hammer mass, and the voice of the hammers they have at any given
>mass level figure quite significantly into the pianists experience of the
>"heaviness" or "lightness" of the action... as these preceptions are nearly
>impossible to seperate from  "responsiveness" for nearly anyone who 
>simply plays
>the instrument.

Once again, it's like how any different versions of "perfect pitch" 
there are. How lightness is measure/perceived depends on who's doing 
the measuring. We techs read with gram weights. Pianists notice how 
quickly a keyboard snaps up to the speed with which they approach it.

At 9:54 AM +0200 4/7/03, Richard Brekne wrote:
>So for the sake of keeping us
>all on the same page, I would suggest that designating this as the "SW ratio"
>instead of simply the "ratio" is definatly a good idea.

I once got slapped with a wet noodle for not referring to it as 
"Strike Balance ratio" (SBR). Ooooh, it felt so good  <g>

Bill Ballard RPT
NH Chapter, P.T.G.

"When writing a mental note, first procure a mental piece of paper"
     ............mental graffitti
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