false beats, real jazz and satisfaction

[David Ilvedson]

Hard to control the hammer when you've suddenly got a 1/4" of lost motion...what pianos 
often need is regular voicing to allow a normal pianissimo...

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044


----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Jim Perkins" <jimperkins at optusnet.com.au>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Received: 1/14/2007 8:37:27 PM
Subject: RE: false beats, real jazz and satisfaction


>Speaking as a pianist and piano teacher, whilst agreeing that the 'soft'
>pedal on uprights doesn't come anywhere near the effect of that on
>grands- where the special effect is largely due to a less used (softer)
>portion of the hammer felt striking the string- as well as a reduced
>number of unisons, I can't agree that it doesn't work at all. The
>problem is that the pianist has to PLAY softly and that demands control
>and practice on the part of the pianist.  The reduced travel of the
>hammer assists soft playing by allowing more control over the hammer
>swing.

>When your customers say it doesn't work, tell them that they have to
>master the technique of using it!

>Jim Perkins

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Farrell [mailto:mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com] 
>Sent: Sunday, 14 January 2007 10:46 AM
>To: Pianotech List
>Subject: Re: false beats, real jazz and satisfaction

>IMHO, you are correct. The soft (left) pedal on most vertical pianos is 
>nothing more than a marketing effort, on the part of manufacturers, to
>paint 
>their vertical piano "the same as" a grand piano.

>Terry Farrell

>----- Original Message ----- 
>> >From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>
>>>The soft pedal of most uprights is the one that pushes the hammer rail

>>>forward. I suspect the "moderator rail" is the mute rail - usually the

>>>middle pedal on verticals equipped with that feature (if one can call
>it 
>>>that - I have several four-letter-word descriptions for those #%&$s).
>>>
>>>Terry Farrell
>>
>>
>> Correct. The moderator is the "mute rail" (middle pedal in uprights).
>The 
>> soft pedal is the left pedal which makes nothing except pushing the
>hammer 
>> rail forward, which is definitlely not audible. Many customers ask me:
>the 
>> left pedal doesn´t work. Could you fix it? My answer is always: It
>works, 
>> but you can´t hear anything!
>>
>> In my opinion the left pedal in uprights  is just an an attempt to
>copy 
>> the effect of the left pedal in grands. Obivously, it doesn´t work and

>> won´t ever work. The theory is: shorter way, lesser energy, quiet
>sound. 
>> In praxis it means: shorter way, no idea as to energy, same sound. I
>work 
>> as psychologist at the university in my hometown (making my PhD) and
>am 
>> toying around with the idea to test that in a scientific way. But I
>have 
>> not the technical possibillities to realize it. An idea could be to
>use 
>> Yamaha discPiano and make subjects listen to the same song with and 
>> without soft pedal and to compare the results. Anyway: the left pedal
>in 
>> uprights produces no audible effect. Other opinions?
>>
>> Gregor