<html> <body> Hi, Alan, At 10:29 AM 12/21/2006, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Greetings, Does this scenario ring a bell for anybody else out there?</blockquote> Yes, it does. (Also, are you using a MAC?  Special characters do not always render well.) Best regards. Horace <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Thanks, Alan Eder RPT -----Original Message----- From: schecter@pacbell.net To: ed440@mindspring.com; pianotech@ptg.org Sent: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:02 AM Subject: Re: Vertical-vs-Grand action.   Hi, Ed.Ā Ā  I completely agree with your points about vertical touch weight, and would extend them to grands. I have added binder clips on one vertical, a Yamaha U1, and two grands, a very old Steinway with DW in the 30's, and a Hamburg O. In all three cases, the players were very happy with the change, and found it to improve their sense of control of dynamics. It seemed to put the effort level required for full expression into the comfort range of the player. When too little effort is required to achieve forte', then extra effort is required to control pianissimo, although it's a different kind of effort than when the action is too heavy.Ā Ā For those considering trying this, note that you can reduce the amountĀ  of strike weight added by moving the weight closer to the hammer center.Ā This also allows you to add weight to only a part of the action,Ā  tapering in the effective weight by setting the weights along an angledĀ line that moves gradually farther from the center toward the hammer.Ā Ā An additional benefit of the binder clips is that their quickĀ  reversability allows the player to feel good about trying the experimentĀ  with no great investment of technician's time or energy ($), and no big leap of faith required. The interesting thing in my three cases is that up to now, none of the three have wanted to remove the weights, and the total time of use is about six piano-years. Also, the players are all very advanced, and if there were any problems with noise or slipping or whatever, they would have uncovered them.Ā Ā -Mark SchecterĀ Ā ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL.  Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. </blockquote></body> </html>