At 4:08 PM -0500 3/19/03, Ed Sutton wrote: >Hi, Dave! > What would you think of "the jack needs to apply pressure to the string >with the damper, and also just barely be touching the key cloth?" Hi back at you, Ed. I would point out that that would be true in the case of the 4' (if you pluck 4', < 8', >8') but the others would be higher by a turn or two of the screw in order to follow the first. And if you transpose you cant have any jack getting caught in the key end cloth as you slide the keyboard over. I have no problem with Richard Kingston, he makes very nice instruments, which is more than I can do, but I learned to regulate and voice from someone I think is much better. I have cut jacks to samples top and bottom (c's and f's usually), turned in screws to match a bench guide and never once has it been perfect. It will get you close. The jack rail needs to be padded and shimmed as the last step. I have found that the short cuts schemes are OK but not quite there. Several very good harpsichord builders have argued that you can voice by using gram weights on the keys to get an even touch, one used to grade his delrin in different strengths, claiming no voicing necessary. Again, often close but not quite. I do not think that shimming the keyboard is considered necessary by the best bulders, (I may be out of date on this), although your overlap will change and the jack rails may have to be adjusted and that is where the jack adjusting screws can be useful. But many times owners and others take it into their heads to play with those, causing the poor technician even more headaches. Let me mention that none of these modern improvements are present in the originals which limped along quite nicely without all the adjustments. ----Dave ----------------------------- Dave Doremus RPT New Orleans algiers_piano@bellsouth.net ------------------------------ --
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