Sorry, bad arithmetic, should read “the difference between .405 and .425”. Doesn’t change my opinion. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Love Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 5:57 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer Blow I don’t agree. We tend to look at the piano in terms of what we do to, which is regulate it. Pianists could care less what makes our job easier, they care about how it feels when we are done. Yes, a slightly squishier punching means we have to decide at what point we consider the key bottomed out. It also means that on a very firm blow the punching might compress a few thousandths of an inch more. Does that really mess up our regulation or influence how the action plays? I don’t think so. But it does influence how the key stroke feels when it hits bottom. Why not use an even firmer punching, one that doesn’t compress at all? Then we could set it really precisely. Of course, we’d be getting a lot of complaints. Using the firmer punching isn’t the difference between .390 and .425, it’s the difference between .410 and .425 (if those squish numbers , .035 and .015, are correct—never actually tested it myself), but even that’s only meaningful with touch that actually compresses them that much during real playing which probably isn’t that often. Even then, I don’t think it matters. With a delicate touch while setting dip you can easily be uniform about the degree of compression, or, you can use a weighted dip tool. During fast repetition, nobody is applying enough force at the bottom of the key stroke to compress the punching appreciably. Fast repetitive playing involves releasing the downward force of the key as early as possible, often before you even get to the bottom of the stroke. Like I said, I think we fall into the trap of thinking in terms of piano technicians and not pianists sometimes. A softer punching makes determining the bottom of the key stroke easier, yes, but it doesn’t make the piano play any better and, in my experience both personal and otherwise, makes the landing too hard—hurts my fingers. With pianists for whom I’ve installed them I’ve had more complaints than compliments and for the most part ended up removing them for more conventional types. Well made punchings are plenty firm in my experience and should strike a good balance between dip setting and playing dynamics. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Dale Erwin Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 9:44 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer Blow You don’t play the piano by setting dip. Not sure what this means. Our ability to set precise dip by having a punching that doesn't compress is secondary, moreover, unimportant. I think it is important The amount of aftertouch varies by touch force. The key has to find a bottom at some point. and that bottom is the end of the squish. After the jack has entered let-off phase it enters aftertouch phase or esacpement from the knuckle. As the punching squish happens the jack is moving at varying distances from the knuckle depending on touch force, which is affecting repetition to one degree or another. If I am setting a .390 dip & I have a punching with .035 squish then my precisely set dip is meaningless as my total key travel can now be as much as .425. Too deep in my practice Also my opinion is that more energy is going into the felt and the keybed and less into the hammer string contact time. I find pianist who like the feel of actions set up with crescendos. The response this action is really even. I've had both feed backs. The really mushy ones I find objectionable, the touch feels undefined somehow. On some pianos there is too much thump noise migrates thru the keybed. In one case I removed them for that cause. By the way what do you'all use in terms of woven punching that might be a bit firmer. I've liked some from Piano-tek Dale Dale Erwin R.P.T. They do produce more easy to determine dip distance but I find them generally way too hard. A little give in the punching I find desirable for the sake of the pianist’s finger and often for the sake of noise and key thumping. Our ability to set precise dip by having a punching that doesn’t compress is secondary, moreover, unimportant. You don’t play the piano by setting dip. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org <mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org?> ] On Behalf Of Paul Williams Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 7:14 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer Blow I've been also using the crescendo punchings for the past couple years and love working with them…waaaay more consistent results. Paul From: Dale Erwin <erwinspiano at aol.com> Reply-To: "pianotech at ptg.org" <pianotech at ptg.org> Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 8:51 AM To: "pianotech at ptg.org" <pianotech at ptg.org> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer Blow Hi Floyd Dittos on Jons post. And just the squish factor of the avergae supply house front punching changes the feel and amount of overall dip/aftertouch based on touch pressure. They squish as much as .035 compared to .015 for Jurgens crescendo punchings. If you're looking for more precision in key dip/aftertouch its only logical use the latter to reduce errors from variables Dale Erwin R.P.T. Erwin's Piano Restoration Inc. Mason & Hamlin/Steinway/U.S. pianos www.Erwinspiano.com Phone: 209-577-8397 -----Original Message----- From: Jon Page <jonpage at comcast.net> To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Tue, Oct 9, 2012 4:29 am Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammer Blow >This week I'm going to see what happens to my hammer line if I set hammer blow to achieve a specified amount of aftertouch. I've set the key height, >key dip and letoff. I'll put the action in the piano, use a .045 punching with a notch cut out so I can slide it onto the front rail pin over the cloth >punching with the key installed, and set the hammer blow for each of the white keys such that a weight on the key (I forget how many grams, and I'm >not in the shop to check) brings it almost to let-off, and a slight downward tap on the key will take it through let-off. Theoretically, the straightness of >the hammer line I achieve with this procedure should allow me to evaluate how successful I was in setting even key dip and consistent aftertouch. Your hammer line will become erratic by doing this because of the slightly different Key Ratios between notes. That procedure is what you do to set an even touch with a priority given to aftertouch. But to do this, you alter the dip not the blow distance. Keys level, hammer line level, key dip slightly uneven. The pianist feels a even aftertouch and not an uneven key dip. Altering the blow on an individual basis will introduce volume discrepancies brought on by varying blow distances. Aftertouch calibration by varying dip slightly is essential to a smooth feeling action. -- Regards, Jon Page -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20121010/78ab94e5/attachment.htm>
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