S&S Damper Pedal question..

[tech@steinway.com]

Phil and List,

You can go so far as to take out the trapwork lever spring.  If the rest of 
the system is loose, and they usually are on a piano this old, then there 
should not be any problems.  If the system is tight there might be some 
lost motion in the pedal, which would feel odd, but not prevent proper 
operation.

Tight sustain pedals are something that we have actually addressed 
recently.  Scott Jones changed the geometry on the lever so that the pedal 
would be easier to depress.  This change should be present on all New York 
grands made since 1997.

Stephen Dove
Steinway & Sons
New York


-----Original Message-----
From:	Phil Bondi [SMTP:tito@peganet.com]
Sent:	Wednesday, September 09, 1998 4:35 PM
To:	Pianotech List
Subject:	S&S Damper Pedal question..

I tuned an *M* today..circa 1920..the customer is a very good player
with developing arthritis..she was wondering if I could possibly make
the damper pedal easier for her to play..I replaced the leaf spring
for her..It was broken..but she wants a *lighter* touch on this
pedal...there's not a whole lot of adjustment there..i have it now to
where there's about 3/4 to 1 inch of play in the pedal, which to me is
a false lightness..that seem to make her happy for now..it won't for
very long..

Is there a way to modify this trapwork so it will play lighter for
her?

And as a side note:..I tuned this Piano today in the Perfect 5ths
Temperment..as I was tuning it I was explaining it to her..she
admitted it was kinda Greek to her, but she LOVED how it
sounded..Octaves 6 and 7 never sounded better to her...Thank you Mr.
Coleman Sr. SIR..!!