Flexy S&S D Keys

[mccleskey112 at bellsouth.net]

Hey: I'd like to know how much flex is too much and why just S&S D's?
Gerald McCleskey RPT
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dean May" <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
To: "'Pianotech List'" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 6:11 AM
Subject: RE: Flexy S&S D Keys


> Ric
>
> Your comments remind me of one of my clients with a son who was a pretty
> decent budding pianist. They had a Wurlitzer spinet for his practice piano
> doe many years and they finally decided it was time to get him a better
> instrument. I was able to hook them up with a nice used Steinway M, a 
> pretty
> decent home piano and a definite upgrade from the Wurly. They called me 
> out
> after it was in the home for a few weeks. Seems the boy didn't like the 
> way
> it felt or sounded. I told them to give it awhile, let him get used to the
> difference, and he might even end up preferring the Steinway over the 
> Wurly.
>
>
> Methinks a lot of "personal preference" boils down to what kind of piano
> someone is used to playing. This son of my client was used to playing the
> Wurly, and that became normative for him, it was how pianos were supposed 
> to
> sound and respond. That's okay, people are certainly entitled to love the
> sound and touch of their Wurlies. And pianists who are used to playing
> flexing keys might think that is a wonderful feel. But they might, 
> actually,
> become better pianists if they learned to play pianos without flexing 
> keys.
>
> I think this all makes it even more incumbent on us to encourage people to
> upgrade their child's practice instrument. Face it: 6-10 years of 
> practicing
> on a piece of crap dulls the senses and is definitely not conducive to
> developing good technique or a good appreciation for tone.
>
> I had a pow wow with my 11 year old daughter's piano teacher. The teacher
> was remarking how well Lydia "got it", she could hear it more than the
> teacher's other students. I tune for a lot of her other students. Most of
> them practice on crap. Lydia has a nice little Baldwin grand with a
> wonderful tone and very nice action. I dunno. Maybe it's her practice 
> piano.
> Of course, maybe it's genetic! :-)
>
>
>
> Dean
>
> Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
>
> PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
>
> Terre Haute IN  47802
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On 
> Behalf
> Of Richard Brekne
> Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 5:30 AM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Flexy S&S D Keys
>
> Hi Del and Terry,
>
> Terry, how did you ascertain that there was <<too much>> flex in the
> keys ?  Del,  what is wrong with calling a spade a spade ?  Honestly
> folks... any <<improvement>> in an actions performance is wholly a
> result of the users reaction to the change.  There is no inherent
> improvment.... only a change in configuration.
>
> Thing is that for every person that would equate this change with an
> <<improvement>> there are probably at least that many if not 10 times as
> many who would not. You make the action stiffer when you make it
> stiffer... goes without saying...  if thats a good thing for the pianist
> in question fine... if its not...what ...are we going to get all down on
> the guy and snub our noses at him ?
>
> Why not just call a change a change and leave it at that .... along with
> making it clear to the customer what the change will do... pros and
> cons. Because there is always pros and cons.
>
> I'd like to know what the criteria for judging these particular keys to
> have to much flex are ?  Terry ?
>
> Cheers
> RicB
>
>
>    Have him or her go back to the August and December 1996 Journals and
>    read the
>    two articles I wrote about energy losses in piano actions. In one of
>    those
>    articles I described how to improve (I realize the idea of
>    "improving" anything
>    to do with the piano is subjective so perhaps I should just say
>    "change") these
>    keys.
>
>    Basically I removed the so-called Accelerated Action "rockers" and
>    replaced them
>    with normal thin felt punchings. I then used the space gained to
>    accommodate
>    maple plates of equal thickness (4 mm comes to mind but you should
>    check) glued
>    to the bottom of the keys. Did wonders to "change" the performance
>    of the action
>    and the piano.
>
>    Del
>
>