[pianotech] Cresendo Punchings was RE: Hammer Blow

[Jon Page]

Maybe it falls into the realm of the "CIrcle of Sound" theory. A blind 
test among notes is not what I meant.
Play one note and listen to the tone envelope. Change the punching and 
listen again. Punchings of similar
density will not exhibit much change. It doesn't always happen and not 
on every note but any improvement
is good in my book. The change is heard by someone nearby and not 
playing the note. Turn the punching over
and the effect is gone. I demonstrated this at the KC convention with a 
Samick grand and the attendees behind me heard it.
The focusing effect was not there with Crescendo straight-sided punching 
nor with the tapered punching placed upside-down.
In a customer's home, I sell the Crescendo punchings during a regulation 
not only by demonstrating the squish factor
but also by the tonal focus. The response from them is usually, "Wow, I 
wouldn't have believed that such improvement
in tone from a piece of felt."  The 'meow' is either gone or reduced - 
more focused.

Last year I got in an Asian console with subtle voicing discrepancies 
between notes. Getting into it, I noticed that the
punchings were somewhat trapezoidal/conical. Although they were of 
medium density, I righted the ones that were
'upside-down' and the voicing discrepancies were no longer an issue. 
That saved me a lot of time I thought I had to spend needling.

There was a ~20 y/o Steck 5'1 (YC) donated grand in a music school. The 
pianists hated it. I changed the punchings to Crescendo
Conical and it magically became less bad. It was in a 'piano lab'. A few 
months later, the piano returned to undesirable.
So they decided to divest themselves of it by swapping it for a 20 y/o 
5'7 Wurly grand I had for sale.

It turns out, in the process of pulling the action in my shop, I saw 
that the piano lab guy (who fancies himself a 'piano guy'
because he sells new Chinese-built uprights on the side) had changed the 
punchings to the pear green ones (still firmer than the OEM's).
Previously, he 'regulated' it with a 6mm letoff but the drop was still 
unchanged. I guess he wanted it to feel more like the digital
keyboards he's used to. I asked the admin to instruct him to keep his 
hand off the actions.
They would have kept the Steck had that not been done surreptitiously.

I am about to lighten the club-like hammers and graduate their weight, 
switch back to Crescendo punchings and move it out the door
next week to a night club in Provincetown. Their loss, my gain.


Regards,

  Jon Page

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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