aftertouch

[tom]

Ron,

            A few observations :

            Throw away the ruler-scale and keep the dip block(s)

            

            If your after touch is inconsistent on the naturals, either the
dip, blow distance or letoff is inconsistent .

I would recheck. You might have a warped rest rail.

            From square one ,

Establish natural key height to three criteria . 1 .Set height on C-40,D42
below the fallboard-fall strip so the top of the key has clearance and does
not hit .  2. The front key pin is inside the key bushing mortise . 3. The
bottom of the key front at rest is not above the top of the keyslip .Satisfy
these three things and make it look “right” 

Then set dip , blow and  letoff that results in acceptable aftertouch, You
can see 1/8th or whatever letoff dimension you prefer (I wouldn’t go less
than 1/8th on this piano to avoid blocking hammers down the road.) 

I then adjust sharp height-dip on c# 41 also by visual criteria. Start with
height that looks correct above the natural .That is the keystick is not
showing above the naturals. Set dip so the sharp is not buried below the
naturals .Check the travel of the back of the key with the sharp and both
naturals on either side.

The sharp capstan MUST rise the same distance as the natural capstans.

Adjust the sharp height -dip combination as necessary to achieve this. Give
a little ,take a little, but make sure the sharp looks right over the
naturals and does not bury below the naturals. At this point I break my rule
and check sharp height with a scale. It will be on either side of ½ inch +/-
a scosh.

            If the capstans rise equal on all keys and the blow- letoff  is
consistent ,after touch HAS to be consistent.

            A dead give away when this is wrong will be in the backcheck
position. I’m not one to agonize over some inconsistency in back check
position on low end verticals, but you will see the backchecks for the
sharps WAY out of line with those of the naturals with inconsistent capstan
rise.

            My point about measuring is that you can follow all the
suggested dimensions from the manufacturer and the thing won’t work .I.E.
see that sticker on the inside of late model Kimball’s 

            Understand the process and all you need is a dip block(s).The
piano will tell you what to do.

 

                        Tom Driscoll RPT

 

  _____  

I'm working on a Baldwin console.  The plate has 40 stamped on it.  It's a
pretty good piano and is about to go back to its home.  The action is a
little on the small side .The regulation is pretty good but I am needing
more aftertouch.  

 

Key height is 2 1/2" above the keybed.

Hammer Blow distance is 1 3/4" to strings.

Letoff is about 1/8" in the treble and 1/4" in the bass.

The bass and midrange white keys are pretty good with correct aftertouch.
Some of the whites in the higher treble have shallow aftertouch.  

Sharps have little aftertouch and are terrible.  They sit 13mm above the
whites.

There is nothing obviously wrong such as too many punchings under the keys.
This piano does not appear to have been tinkered on by an unqualified
toooooner.  

 

My choices are:

1.	Raise keys.  
2.	Decrease hammer blow distance.  
3.	Increase letoff. 
4.	Increase dip.

With choice 1, I'm hesitant to do this as the keys are right up against the
rail.  With choices 2 & 3, I feel like I'm losing power.  With choice 4, I
feel like I'm chasing symptoms and not the real problem.  

 

It may be that the action is compact enough that I just need to squeeze what
little I can from all 4 choices.

 

Any thoughts from the list?  Am I overlooking something?  Thanks in advance
and happy holidays to all of you.

 

Ron Shiflet  

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