The Good kind of Heavy

[Jean-Jacques Granas]

The last comments about numbers bring to mind an old joke about statistics:

Stats are like a bikini suit: What they reveal is most interesting, but they
hide the really important stuff.

Nice day y'all

JJ


----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Brekne" <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: The Good kind of Heavy


>
>
> Barbara Richmond wrote:
> >
> > Ric,
> >
> > I find this curious, not because I can't believe a piano's touch could
be
> > heavy and good, but because even during my tenure as a university
> > technician, I can't recall actually hearing an out and out compliment
about
> > the touch of a piano when the voicing wasn't considered "desirable".
(OK,
> > that could just be a result of my ability as a technician.)   Dang, I
wish I
> > could've been there to see it, hear it, play it--especially because as a
> > music major, I tended to like the heavy touch pianos, myself--or at
least
> > what I thought were heavy touch, but maybe they just weren't as bright
as
> > the others.
> >
> Well.. I spend a good deal of time talking to the students and faculty
> and getting them to understand this <<separation of touch and tone>>
> piano techs operate with that pianists usually do not. And comments and
> compliments as it were do not come usually unsolicited in these
> conextions. I ask :) and often.
>
>
> > Just curious, what size room is it in?
>
> Its a little practice room...say 8 by 10 feet or so.
>
> >
> > What *were* the comments on the tone--especially in relationship to the
> > touch?  Did they really say, "Ric, my man......this piano's tone leaves
> > something to be desired, but I really dig the touch!" ??   :-)    Didn't
> > anybody say why they liked the heavy touch?  Say, for instance, "I am
the
> > whole orchestra here, and this piano makes it easier for me to control
the
> > inner voices!"  [Just for the record, those voices aren't in my head.
:-) ]
> >
>
> Long story. Initially this piano was not in use because the previous
> tech didnt like it and let it fall apart in hopes they'd junk it. Lots
> of broken strings... etc etc. So I started making it useable... I only
> have X amount of hours a week to spend on such and we have a lot of
> pianos so its been convienient to stretch the gradual upgrading over
> time. I started off rock hard, and was played thus for a while, got
> reshaped and very needled down to a mush tone, and has hardened up again
> a couple times. Each time I make a change I start fishing for comments.
>
>
> > I guess what it comes down to for me, is it just seems like there should
be
> > some *result* of the heavy and good touch, high ratio, or whatever, that
> > make or made the students love to play it.
> >
> > Do tell!   Inquiring minds want to know--even if they are terribly right
> > brained  (what, who me?).  AND it will be very interesting to hear the
> > comments on the new action!
>
> Well... I still need new whippens... school budjets...sheesh.. and a few
> other goodies. It has new hammers, new shanks, new damperfelts, rebushed
> keys. All done over 2 years time. At the start I simply evened Strike
> Weights and Front Weights to have a point of reference for future
> changes to be made. The whole purpose being to seek answers to exactly
> these kinds of questions. This one makes my head scratch... as it seems
> to break a lot of the rules we generally agree on about touch do's and
> dont's.
>
> I have another instrument that has been recieving comments lately of
> being heavy in a "bad way" Again... very largely voicing independant...
> recently had strikeweights and frontweights evened out to get a 38 gram
> balance weight without regard to the existing action ratio. Just evened
> out what was. The like the eveness to be sure... but the touch wears
> them down. I'll have to pull it and supply you all with the same kind of
> data soon.
>
> Cheers
> RicB
>
>
> >
> > Barbara Richmond, RPT
> > somewhere near Peoria, IL
> >
> > PS  By the way, if you're ever in a convention class and the instructor
> > starts talking numbers in a big way, you'll be able to spot me:  I'll be
the
> > one whose eyes have rolled back into her head and has passed out on the
> > floor.  :-)
>
>
> I hear you :)... numbers are cool as far as they go... but they dont go
> as far as many numbers freaks would have them. I get into trouble all
> the time around here because of that...
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