Objective keydip measuring

[A440A@aol.com]

Dave writes:
>Bill Garlick used to teach that you don't even have to worry about dip.
>Setting aftertouch even - unless you have some really squirly action
>problems - will give you the dip you need.  I have since gone for more
>like .030 of aftertouch rather than .050, but normally I don't even take
>the time to set dip. 

      Yes, Bill was my teacher at North Bennett, and at the time, we were
taught to set let-off by distance measurement and dip with the blocks.  I
think Chris Robinson is the one that changed his mind too!  
    As far as the amount of aftertouch,  some of the high ratio actions will
necessitate a greater aftertouch to prevent them from feeling shallow, and the
low ratio ones will need every thousandth of key dip to get the hammer through
let-off without burying the sharps. Mortise clearance on the jacks also is a
parameter that comes into play on the Steinway's of the 1960-1985 vintage.
   The height of the sharps and how they far down they go are my usual limits
on what I can set for aftertouch. 
Regards, 
Ed Foote