Bill Costanzo writes: "[Ray Chandler] said get the hammers checking as close to the strings as possible, but I've found that even a small adjustment can be enough. Doing this allows a little more time for the jack to return under the butt. I've used this fix when everything else like springs, actions centers, and regulation checks out, and it works every time." Bill, This is indeed a good idea, but it solves only one of two problems, medium to quick repetition. The note must repeat under ALL conditions, including when the player releases the note very slowly. In this case, we must make sure that the combined weight of the wippen plus the back of the key is enough to more than counterbalance the front of the key, and cause it to keep going up (and the jack down past the butt) when the hammershank stops at the rest rail. Newton's comprehensive list is great for a general diagnosis, but I took the writer at face value that the jack and wippen centers were working properly, and the key bushings weren't too tight. >"IMO, It feels better than adding weights too." I want to make it clear that I don't advocate solving all action problems with weights, but this is one case is which nothing but more weight in either the back of the key or the wippen will solve a design problem, no matter what it feels like. Happy New Year, Bob Davis
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