Una corda today, (was Will RCT do this? (was Proposal off-topic))

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Greetings, 
   I am splitting the thread subjects as soon as the thread leaves the topic, 
 this isn't about the SAT pitch raising! 

    I earlier posted my procedure of dropping the
mute between notes and using the una corda to isolate the middle string for
tuning, then roughly bringing up the other two. 

Tony writes:
>Agreed. The una corda method would work on most pianos but not the new
> Yamahas. From what I have read (on list ?) the new method for regulating 
the una
> corda is to still have the hammer strike three strings, but a softer part
>of the hammer. All this to stop the sympathetic string from vibrating 
sideways
>and buzzing on dampers or something like that.
>But what about the pianist and the different sound you get with the third
>string ringing in sympathy as against being struck.

  I agree, this is one way to regulate a una corda and I think it was 
tradtionally used on many European pianos.  Some instruments only have the 
clearance and tolerances to do it this way, but where possible, I prefer to 
give the pianist as much control as I can.  
    This means that with partial depression, the pedal moves all hammers to 
new felt, going deeper lets hammers be moved to "graze" the leftmost wire of 
the trichords, and when the pedal is all the way down, all appropriate 
hammers off the third string.  
    I may be expecting too much pedal sensitivity from the moderate level 
pianist, and this type of regulation is expensive in time, but when the 
situation allows for this level of work, and an accomplished performer gets 
syncronized with a pedal like this, they notice! 
Regards, 
Ed