[pianotech] double-striking hammers on Chinese uprights

Scott Helms, RPT tuner at helmsmusic.net
Wed Aug 19 15:34:15 MDT 2009


David -

Repinning flanges to address bobbling in uprights works for the same
reason that it does in grands. If the hammers are pinned too loose, there
is too much energy in the hammer assembly during aftertouch and it will
rebound and double-strike. Note that this typically happens on a blow that
isn't strong enough to put the hammer into check, but that IS strong
enough to make the hammer return to the string a second time.

When you say excessive damper spring tension is the culprit for "exactly
the reasons [I] mention", do you mean that it discourages the player from
following through the keystroke? If so, how does that explain bobbling in
the treble hammers that don't have dampers? And, wouldn't that be a player
technique/education issue and not a piano malfunction issue?

Scott
------
Scott A. Helms, Registered Piano Technician
480-818-3871
www.helmsmusic.net






> Why would repining flanges help with double striking?
>
> As I mentioned earlier, and as was discussed in a previous thread, excess
> tension in the damper springs is a common culprit for double striking
> (especially in some new pianos) for exactly the reasons you mention below.
>
>
> David Love
> www.davidlovepianos.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On
> Behalf
> Of Scott Helms, RPT
> Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 8:56 PM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] double-striking hammers on chinese uprights
>
> I'm surprised that repinning the flanges didn't help - that always seems
> to do the trick for me. Have you tried reducing the blow distance to get
> more aftertouch? This was actually a thread on this list about a year ago,
> and some suggested that damper springs that are too strong could cause
> bobbling, although I've never been able to figure out why that would be
> the case (unless it just discourages the player from following through the
> entire keystroke) ...
>
> ------
> Scott A. Helms, Registered Piano Technician
> 480-818-3871
> www.helmsmusic.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>




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