Upright Sostenuto

[Paul McCloud]

Michael:
	I wrote a reply to Joe's email to me several days ago, but my
ISP was down for a few days, and I deleted it.  Basically, what I found
was that if you regulate the sos. Rail (rubber strip) properly, it will
hold those notes that are played at the time.  But, since the sos.bar
doesn't actually lift those dampers any further, the other dampers (and
their sharpened pins) must contact the bar when they are played.  I
think that's why it's made of rubber.  There's no way that I know of to
avoid this.  If the sos. Bar actually lifted the dampers  further, then
the rest of the notes could be played without their dampers contacting
the bar.  
	If this rubber strip were to be angled so that the damper
stickers slid over it as the rail is raised, this would lift the dampers
further.  But then the sharpened stickers might dig in and gouge the
rubber.  Also, if they do dig in, and they will,  the rail won't lift
evenly (see below).
	As far as regulating the stickers, I found it necessary to
install the action in the piano, and regulate them there.  This
regulation I found to be more difficult than regulating spoons.  I used
a hook made from wire to bend the stickers. The stickers must be in
exactly the right spot. Any sticker which is improperly positioned will
prevent the rail from moving upward. The rail hangers and the rail
itself are very lightly constructed, and will lift unevenly if there is
improper contact.  
  	Eventually I was able to make it work, but I wasn't able to get
rid of the hard "feel" of the action with the sos. Pedal depressed. I
just don't think it can be adjusted any better. 
	If you like challenges, go for it. I hope you get paid well for
your time.  I did the work on store time, so for me it was just another
task I needed to do.

	Best, 
	Paul McCloud
	San Diego
-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of Michael Spalding
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 8:19 PM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Upright Sostenuto


Many thanks to all who responded.  

Paul, I did bow out, but for my own education, for "next time", I would
like to learn more about how to regulate these animals.  

Joe, you say "if the dampers lift at less than 1/2 the key stroke, then
the
tabs will not be "forced" by the sostenuto bar".  But it seems to me
that
as long as all the dampers lift at the same point, it shouldn't matter
whether it's 1/2, or 1/3, or 2/3 keystroke.  I would want the sostenuto
bar
to lift the dampers beyond the point of initial contact, to get out of
the
way of the other notes dampers, but because of the way the sharpened
ends
of the metal wires contacted the rubber bar, I was afraid they would
chew
through the rubber, so it's currently set up such that the bar only
holds
the dampers at the height that the keys lift them.   

Dave, Jon, and Julia, thanks for mentioning the manufacturer's models
that
actually work - I hope I run into one soon so I can check out how they
do
it.

Mike

Michael Spalding
spalding48@earthlink.net



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