Tom, Maybe I overlooked someone mentioning this, but how is the height of the backcheck in relation to bottom of the hammer tail when at let-off? Couldn't that affect it? How about nap orientation on the recovered backcheck? Also, how is new knuckle size & placement compared to old? It sounds as though the jack is having to be forced on forward out of the way by a very hard blow. If so, why? I realize also, it could be too heavy hammers compared to the old, necessitating overly strong spring tension. How does the hammer weight compare? I can empathize with your frustration. Been there. I'm sure you've probably already thought of all this but thought I'd grasp at a few straws here, just in case. Let us know the problem when you solve it. Avery >I am stumped with the backchecks on this piano. The piano is an early 80s >S&S L with new Premium blue hammers on Renner shanks & flanges and >re-leathered original backchecks. I have CLOSELY regulated key height, dip, >let-off and drop, spring tension, and all the other usual suspects. The >problem is that the hammers absolutely refuse to check when the note is >played at the level of forte or less. They just bounce between the >backcheck and the string. The angle of the backchecks is good and they >check high enough, but I just can't seem to get them to work in the piano. >The problem is particularly bad in the bass and tenor, where the hammers >are larger. > >The problem may be in the balancier. When I push the balanciers down, there >seems to be much more spring resistance than normal although the hammer >rise is not particularly fast. The original wippens have been rebuilt and >repinned, so I'm pretty sure that it is a not pinning problem. The slots >are clean and the springs have been cleaned and polished. > >Tom Seay ___________________________ Avery Todd, RPT Moores School of Music University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-4893 713-743-3226 atodd@uh.edu http://www.music.uh.edu/
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