Are they usually noisy? I received a >>call from a someone who bought a PD 520 at christmas and now has what >>sounded over the phone like a loud slap at hammer return. The sound >>occurs playing manually or by the Pdisc. >> The unusually noisey hammer return could be the hammer rest rail being loose. Also, sometimes the sharps hit the fallboard if the action has become out of position but this is usually not the case that I've found. The noisey knuckles and jack return cushions I would thiink would be hard to hear over the phone although they are a source of noise during soft play. Also, if the PianoDisc unit is not a Silent Drive version, you will have "zipping" or "oinking" duriing softest play. This noise is the plunger vibrating inside of the barrel of the coil and is most noticable during the activation stroke, or "note on" event and not during hammer return. >>Anything unique to these pianos that I should know before I go look at >>it? > >>Richard Anderson, RPT > Well, Richard, be sure you unplug the power cord or turn off the main power switch on the power supply located under the piano attached to the side of the outer rim. Then unplug the record strip (if it has one) before you slide the action out. Next, when you push the action back in the action cavity, DEPRESS the sustain pedal FIRST, then DEPRESS all the keys using the key slip, or the fall board, or an appropriately cut 2x2 with a 1/2" groove cut out of one length. This piece fits over the sharps and the naturals same-ol-timeously and holds them all down at once. Hold this piece down with the lengthy digits of your hands whilst placing your thumbs on the action frame and push ........WHILE HOLDING THE SUSTAIN PEDAL DOWN!!! If you don't hold the sustain pedal down, you peel off a bunch of damper lifter felts, bends damper wires, bend damper lifter spoons, and create lots more work for yourself. If you don't hold all the keys down to re-install the action, you WILL BEND some solenoid plungers. They can be quite a treat to locate, and straighten. After the action is successfully re-installed, re-connect the record strip, and turn the power back on. Finally, a word of caution to all techs wishing to work on any player or piano that has had modifications or retro-fit work done. Always unplug the power, and always look things over thoroughly before attempting any repairs. If you feel like cursing the tech that did this to such a seemingly sacred beast, do so only if the work is poorly done and I will join in chorus with you. However, if the work was done very well, and the customer is happy with the device, bear in miind that there's a lot of pianos being sold and put in homes that wouldn't normally have them because of these contraptions. That means more work for all of us, more sales for the piano makers, and more things to fix should they go wrong. I enjoy doing these modifications and I try to label every one I do with one of my stickers (with my phone number on it) so that if a tech has a problem, they can call me and perhaps save themselves some grief PLUS look impressive to the customer by knowing in advance what to expect. Actually I want the customer to call me for service but it doesn't always work out that way. Lar Larry Fisher RPT specialist in players, retrofits, and other complicated stuff phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com http://www.pacifier.com/~larryf/ (revised 10/96) Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water
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