How to best lighten the touch on a P-22, please ???

[Richard Brekne]

Hi Gordon.

I use the Hale tool ( I think thats what its called) and pull back on 
them in the middle. You really dont need much tension on them at all. 
Del wrote some good stuff on upright dampers some years back and that is 
worth a read.  Thumb of rule is that they dont need any more tension 
then is necessary for them to quiet the strings quickly and sufficiently 
enough.  Often you can back them off so as to gain as much as 5 grams 
static downweight reduction.... perhaps more in extreme cases.

Jack return springs are a bit tougher to reduce.  But basically you take 
an appropriately wide flat faced screwdriver or similar tool, insert at 
the closet point to the jack you can get... and press them downwards... 
hold them down for a few seconds.  It wins you a bit.  Same thing 
applies however.. these springs need be no stronger then is needed to 
get the jack back under the knuckle fast enough. If the jack center is 
tight then change the center... dont compensate by strengthening the spring.

Dont push the hammer rail in unless that is called for in itself.  And I 
would not recommend anymore then standard spec lost motion... which is a 
rats hair thin... jack is supposed to engage the knuckle almost 
immediatly. Introducing more then absolute minimal lost motion gets you 
into lots of other things immediatly and in general the action is not 
designed to work that way. 

Cheers
RicB


    Thanks for the suggestions, and what, specifically, is the best way
    to weaken these springs ??? ( Yeah, I know, bend 'em. But exactly
    how, where, and how much ?  Especially the jack returns springs ???
    )      I could "weigh off" the keys with lead, too, but unless I
    wanted to do a  full "drill job", the only place I imagine putting
    leads would be screw-on types, on the keys' undersides.     I also
    thought of pushing the hammer rail in, a bit, but that might throw
    something else off. ( And these Yammies are pretty fussy, as we know ! )

    Peace,
    G