<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16681" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><EM>>Alicia's original post with comments interspersed:</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hello all, <BR><BR>I have recently crossed a customer who asked me to make some custom changes to his S&S model B. Such as raising the lyre height alittle (he says he has big feet and its unfomfortable for him to use the height set), so i found a couple of big guys with hairy palms to lift the piano, and put some larger casters in, which raised the piano by about almost an inch, which he said was just right.... That got me thinking... I'm 6ft tall (unfortunately) and one of the pianos I have, the keybed was so low i couldnt fit my knees underneath and it was a very... shall we say loosly uncomfortable experience playing it, as well as the same problem as the customer, i have biger feet than most and pedal height was unfomfortable, so i took up larger grand sized casters. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><EM>>A simple solution to a problem we don't often consider.  It's worth carrying some extra caster cups in the car </EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><EM>>in case they might help.</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>The piano im talking about is a  43inch console which i wrote about before, (the one i fell in love with). But after i carried away on a spree with customizing it for myself, i changed entire regulation, let off is not set at about 3mm in bass and 5mm in trebble, basically as close as it will get without bouncing, put on a very tight set of hammer springs, and made a drastic change of puting in a set of hammers that normally would go into a 290 Bösey...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><EM>>Getting let-off as close as possible is always an improvement (assuming you'll be there to re-regulate when the >humidity changes) I don't know why you got it closer in the bass than the treble.</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><EM>>Adding heavier hammers will probably improve most verticals. It can also be done by adding weight to the existing >hammers. If it can be afforded, adding high quality hammers will improve just about any piano.</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><EM>>Stronger hammer return springs will improve repetition, and also make the action heavier.</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial> Adjusting capstains i didnt leave the hammer resting on the hammer rest rail, instead, i adjusted them so that theyr about 5mm off the rail, in other words the butt is resting on the jack. (adjusted the action brakets to make sure hammers keep the same blow distance as if they were rested on the rail)... Shokingly the action became as heavy as on a new grand piano.. however, it has also became intensely sencitive, and repetition is fast and clean (atleast as far as i can play).... it almost feels like im playing my old Bosey 290... </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><EM>>This is perhaps more change than necessary to remove lost motion. It will work if the jack springs are strong >enough and if your technique has a clean  release of the key. Sounds like you moved the action rails a little bit >away from the string plane. Why not just lower the hammer rest rail a little?</EM></DIV> <DIV><BR>While i was as it i lubricated center pins and front rail pins with some oil for guns... yes for guns :-)... and i was astonished and what a diference this experiment made....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><EM>>Friction from keys being pushed to the side while playing can be severe. Sometimes the keypins need to be >replaced. Most USA technicians favor teflon or Prolube for key pins.</EM></FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now my question is, is making such experiments ok? and if so why dont most manufacturers today who make good quality uprights dont mess around more with the actions they make?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><EM>>Experiments on your own piano are made at your own risk! The changes you have made seem to show >considerable insight.</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM>>Supercharged actions, such as you have made, need frequent attention to play well. Manufacturers generally aim >for long-term security. PTG sometimes has classes on "super-charging the vertical action."</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM>>If you haven't heard of the Fandrich vertical action, do a web search. It's a wonderful action, more sensitive, I think, >than most grand actions. I wish it would become commonly accepted. But it costs more than a standard action, and >requires a somewhat different technique to regulate and maintain, so it probably won't ever pass the "price point" >test.</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM>>I hope you'll visit the 3 piano technology schools while you're in the USA. You might do extremely well in one of >them.</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM></EM> </DIV> <DIV><EM>>Ed Sutton</EM></DIV> <DIV><BR> <BR><BR>Alicia Evans<BR>Philadelphia<BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>