<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] h'chord regulation question</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> On 1/26/05 4:26 PM, "Wimblees@aol.com" <W= imblees@aol.com> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>I'm trying to do some = regulating on our Down double manual. The bottom manual activates both the s= hort and long string. Question: Should the two plecterns be adjusted so that= they hit the two strings at the same time, or should there be a delay betwe= en the two of them? If there needs to be a delay, how much of a delay should= there be, and should the longer string hit before the shorter, or the other= way around?   On a different topic, but with the same h'chord. The lever that activates t= he long strings is broken. (I mean, the lever is literally broken off, right= where it enters the cabinet). Where can I get a new one?   Wim Willem Blees, RPT Piano Tuner/Technician School of Music University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL USA </BLOCKQUOTE>Hi Wim,     The shorter string (4 foot) should pluck first. The= plucking of all three strings (including the other long (8 foot) string, wh= en both manuals are coupled) should be staggered, one after the other, in an= even way. What matters is evenness of touch, so one note doesn’t feel= more resistant than the next. And you need to fit all three plucks into the= keydip distance, making sure you don’t have a bottoming out problem, = especially in the bass where strings are more flexible, so plucking takes up= more keydip. IOW, the distance between plucks is negotiable, but you should= be able to depress the key slowly and hear/feel each pluck separately in tu= rn.     You’ll probably need to make a replacement le= ver. You could trace what you have, and send it to Hubbard or Zuckermann and= see if they have something that will work. Or maybe try Instrument workshop= (fortepiano.com). But they vary so much from maker to maker that you will n= o doubt need to do some modifying, whatever you start out with.     BTW, the name of your harpsichord maker is (was &#8= 211; he’s long out of business) “Dowd.” And it’s &#8= 220;plectrum.” Not to be picky or anything <g>. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico </BODY> </HTML>