List, I'm reading lots of nifty ideas on lightening up the touch on a grand, but I think it's really important that Tom Driscoll's response (copied below) not get lost in the crowd. A colleague in our local chapter recently invited me to sit in on a day of service he was performing on a Yamaha G2 belonging to a mutual friend. I was definitely the learner in this experience. We pretty much followed what Tom is suggesting here. Lots of friction work/lubrication, including removing the back action and applying Protek CLP, and ironing the bushings in the keys and the damper guide rail. Regulation was assessed and carried out on an "as needed" basis -- priority was given to slowing down the damper lift and adjusting the rep springs to the new "lower friction" situation. Hammers were reshaped and voiced, changing the decay profile significantly. The customer was very pleased, and commented on how the heaviness in the touch was gone. It was "a different piano." I was struck by how important it is to attend to the basics before resorting to extraordinary measures. How many pianos do we have under our care that could be transformed like this by a single day of basic in-home service? This experience certainly gave me confidence that I can provide an extremely helpful and cost-effective service to my customers. I've already put out a quote on a brand new Pearl River grand that is frustrating a young student because of the heaviness of touch. Floyd Gadd Manitoba Chapter Tom Driscoll wrote: Martin, Ditto on Mr. Monroes post on friction.. I performed a day of service on a same size kawai last week that played like a truck.I list in no particular order and at the risk of leaving something out: Lube and bed keyframe, Lube keypins and ease keys at balance hole and bushings, Polish capstans and lube , lube rep lever and jacks,knuckles ,wippen cushions and what ever else you can find,reshape hammers and REGULATE. Jacks too far under knuckles for example will make letoff very "resistant" Sample work up one note with touch weight before and after and more importantly let the client feel the difference. Dampers lifting too early with the key could be a problem also. Just a few ideas, Tom Driscoll
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