[pianotech] Cresendo Punchings was RE: Hammer Blow

[Tony Caught]

Many many years ago I changed all the front touch felts in a Kawai grand
because I felt that the touch was a bit too hard on compression. Then I
regulated the piano by feel. (i can't play myself but it seems that I have
a good touch. The player, a pianist of some note was very impressed and he
felt that he could do more with the piano because he felt that he had
better control. What we should always remember is that the pianist
perceives the sound in the mind and then when it is played the sound made
should be that of the percieved sound. The touch of the piano is what makes
the sound, soft or heavy, high or low, so it is understandable that
everything related to the touch is important.

Tony

On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 12:42 PM, Don Mannino <donmannino at ca.rr.com> wrote:

> I attempted a semi-blind test with the punchings in a Shigeru Kawai EX.
> Now, this piano already has fairly firm front punchings, so the density
> difference wasn't too great.
>
> Another technician installed 4 of the Crescendo punchings in random notes
> around the center of the action.  I didn't know which notes.  Paper
> punchings were also changed to make sure the dip was correct.
>
> First he played up and down the scale at different volume levels.  He knew
> which keys of course, but I didn't know, and I could not hear any change in
> tone from before they were changed.  He felt that maybe there was a slight
> difference in sound, but he attributed it to a change in the impact noise
> of
> the key.  Then I played the notes myself and still could not hear them, but
> by slowly pressing down each key and feeling the nature of the punching
> compression I was able to find them - they were slightly firmer than the
> originals, and compressed differently, kind of a logarithmic increase in
> resistance as you squeezed down.
>
> So my friend replaced the Crescendo punchings with the originals, and I
> then
> did the same process for him, in a different octave.  4 punchings changed,
> paper punchings also to match dip.
>
> Same results - I knew which notes I had changed, so I could slightly hear a
> difference.  He was unable to figure out which notes were changed, either
> by
> sound or by feel, until I took off the keyslip for him to see.
>
> So this is one piano only, and it was a piano with fairly similar density
> of
> punchings.  I can understand how different key wood, different keyframe and
> keybed construction, and even the relative flushness of the front key
> bushings would all have an effect on a perceived tonal difference.  But at
> least for this piano, we decided that we could not justify changing them.
>
> Subtle tonal differences can become more noticeable when an entire piano
> has
> the same effect, also.   But truly blind testing something like this is
> difficult, because there are always other factors which affect the sound. 2
> actions in one piano?  They will always sound different.  Of course 2
> different pianos have even more variables.  But those who have installed
> many sets of these punchings can gradually build up a sense of the sound
> difference from having heard it in different pianos over time.
>
> I am in the camp that the impact sound and how it carries into the body of
> the piano most definitely can be perceived as a change in the piano tone.
> If you and your customers like it, that's reason enough to use them!
>
> Don Mannino
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On
> Behalf
> Of Jon Page
> Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2012 4:37 PM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Cresendo Punchings was RE: Hammer Blow
>
> It must be mass hysteria then when other people standing near the piano
> hear
> it.
>
>  >Yes. A psycho-acoustic illusion. The world of piano is chock full of 'em.
> DA
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Jon Page
>
>
>
>


-- 
Tony Caught
tonycaught at gmail.com
0427 850 737
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