Grand touch

[Dean May]

You can find inexpensive gram scales on Ebay. Here is one, item
190007830555, for around $18. It only goes up to 50 gram but measures to .01
gram. Perfect for hammer weights. I have one of these and another for
heavier weights. 

 

Dean

 

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of BobDavis88 at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 12:02 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: Grand touch

 

Ric writes:

A Renner action in a 12 year old Petrof concert grand which feels heavy and
tiring to pianists.

The D/W  average is 48g and U/W average 28g. Action ratio around 5.5

etc.

Two things - 

First, how's the voicing, especially as you go from mp to mf or f? If it
doesn't open up through this range, it can feel like it takes more effort to
get sound. 

 

Second, to get a more complete picture quickly, check for inertia at the
other end of the stick - weigh the hammer strike weight on note 1 and note
25 or so. If it's over about 11 grams on 1 and 10.5 on 25, you may be able
to skin the hammers. You'll have to remove a little lead to rebalance, so it
will help with inertia at both ends, as well as open up the tone. 

 

You can make a strike-weight-checker by putting a razor blade in a slot in a
piece of wood. Put the strike point of the hammer on your gram scale with
the shank horizontal, stick the flange straight up into the air, and shim
the block with the razor blade in it so it supports the (horizontal) shank
right under the pin. This is a little crude, but it will tell you what you
need to know. If you don't have a gram scale, I think it's an important
investment for anyone who is doing action work.

 

Bob Davis

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