<html> <body> I haven't tried this so maybe there's something I'm missing, but how about a tuning pin plate bushing, possibly with a cloth balance rail punching to keep things quiet, slipped onto the front rail pin? Aaron At 11:23 AM 8/22/2007, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">This is indeed the kind of stuff useful to have in one's bag of tricks at a place like CalArts.  Just for the record, though, this particular situation was a private call for an artist from New York in L. A. for some performances.  He was ultimately referred to me because of my experience in the realm of realizing original tuning systems and extended techniques.  (Plus, like the guy in the Verizon ads, I've got this amazing network behind me!) Just for the record, making the jack cheat was a bit too unreliable on soft blows (as in grazing a key that one did not intent to actually play), so in the end we went with adding cloth punchings to the front pins. Were I to do this again, I would use an arch punch with a diameter equivalent to the width of a sharp to trim down the punchings for those keys (so as not to interfere with adjacent naturals). Cheers, Alan Eder -----Original Message----- From: Fred Sturm <fssturm@unm.edu> To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org> Sent: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 4:19 pm Subject: Re: [CAUT] disabling individual noes Your results may vary. I tried this on my Baldwin M at home before writing my original post, and it worked (didn't work) fine: key up and down, no hammer striking string. After reading Jon's post, I tried it on a Steinway B at UNM, and the backcheck jammed on the hammer tail immediately. So the check had to be adjusted back for it to work. Then I tried a note on a Yamaha G-2, and it worked fine, but on a piano (as in soft, not forte) keystroke, the hammer would play. The rep spring was too strong.  Anyway, at a place like Cal Arts, it might be a worthwhile thing to know how to do, and to go to a bit of trouble to "get it right."  For the rest of us, probably not. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico <a href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</a> On Aug 17, 2007, at 8:28 PM, Jon Page wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">>you could adjust the jacks forward, I don't see that working because once the note is played the action will capsize and the key will hang down. As pointed out earlier, a punching under the sharp will interfere with the naturals unless it is narrow. If he wants the keys to operate but not sound, then remove the wip and shank and weight the key.  If he just wants the key inoperable, tie a Twist-Tie around the rep lever and shank, a double loop for security.  Easily installed, easily removed without interfering with neighboring keys. <pre>-- </pre> Regards, Jon Page </blockquote> = <hr> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at <a href="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000437">AOL.com</a> .</blockquote> <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> ------------------------------------------ Aaron Bousel Registered Piano Technician, Piano Technicians Guild abousel@comcast.net (413) 253-3846 (voice & fax)</body> </html>