Touch Weight Too Heavy on MX100

[Tom Cole]

Dear List,

I tuned a Yamaha MX100A (1988) today that had a touchweight problem I
found curious. It was the first thing the customer remarked about so I
did some investigation. 

I noticed right away that the dampers picked up early but, with the
dampers picked up by the pedal, the up and down weights were too high as
well.

  NOTE	DW	UW

	C2	53	34
	C3	57	36
	C4	60	36
	C5	64	38
	C6	62	38
	C7	62	39
	B7	75	41	(C8 felt like it had a mechanical problem)

There doesn't seem to be a friction problem and so the simple solution
would seem to be to put lead weights in the keys to bring the
touchweight down but I've never seen a Yamaha that was so out of
regulation. Is there something about early Disklaviers that I need to
know? Could this particular instrument have come from the factory that
way?

Unfortunately, I didn't think to pull out some key sticks to see if
someone had pulled out the key leads. I did glance down the side of some
Bs and Es in the bass to check for key leads and didn't see any nor any
empty holes. 

The present owner bought it 3 years ago and the touch was heavy when she
first got it. So far, two technicians have not been able to help her
out, one of whom was a Yamaha tech.

Thought I'd run it by the list before getting the lead out. Can anyone
comment on this weighty subject?

Tom
-- 
Thomas A. Cole, RPT
Santa Cruz, CA
mailto:tcole@cruzio.com