Hello Phil, Michael, List > I would also caution you against being deceived by >anecdotal evidence of people who say that they have >'improved' the key ratio by angling the capstans back. >What they have accomplished is to move the contact >point between the top of the capstan and the wippen >heel a little closer to the balance point, so that the >key ratio has changed. That change resulted from >moving the contact point, or point of force >application, a little closer to the balance point. Not >from angling the capstan so that it contacts the key >closer to the balance point. I agree. Some people angle the capstan in order to reduce the overall action ratio because it's less work than moving the heel. I agree that this only works because the angled capstan can be pushed closer to the end of the heel. The disadvantage is a smaller contact surface between the capstan and the felt. The relationship between the key/capstan and the wippen is that of a pair of gears. In this case, the two gears mesh only with one tooth each, so you can eliminate the bulk of the gear mass and teeth. Regarding the post by Michael Gamble: >On this subject I have already posted an extract from >Max Matthias book "Steinway Service Manual" published >by Verlag Erwin Bochinsky. Relating to Steinway >uprights, page 165 it states (inter alia): >- Modifying the wippen lever. This is done by >adjusting the capstan screws to the rear or front. >(13mm factory setting on Model K, 10 mm on Model >V, front edge of the capstan screw to front edge of >wippen heel). Adjusting the capstan screw to the >front results in lighter touch. This tends to reduce >after-touch. >Hope this helps! >Michael G.(UK) This is an interesting point, but such a design puts the technician in a situation where one adjustment has to satisfy two requirements; the capstan height is normally adjusted to get the proper hammer strike distance. If we use the capstan adjustment to change the strike ratio, the hammer strike distance may not be in the right range. Best regards, Vladan __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Make Yahoo! your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
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