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<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">Ed, this is THE Chickering, as opposed =
to A
Chickering. Good ol' Joe simply assumes that everyone knows what THE =
Chickering
is. Obviously, YOU don't keep tabs on what piano is in his shop! If =
I
recall correctly, he is working on a very old Chickering (19th Century - =
maybe
mid-ish 19th) that didn't originally have a modern action (likely =
not
double repetition). He retro-fitted it with a 20th Century modern type =
action.
That is THE Chickering.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">And yeah, that's my assumption also, a
grand.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">Sorry Joe, I had to. =
;-)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV><BR><FONT =
face=Arial
size=2>> << 'm just about to do the key weighting on the =
Chickering.
I'd like to<BR>> know what y'all consider to be ideal touch weight. =
This
piano,<BR>> originally, had a very light touch. Since it now has a =
"modern"
action,<BR>> I don't think it would be prudent to make the touch =
"light" as
it was,<BR>> since I think it would compromise speed. =
>><BR>>
<BR>> Greetings, <BR>> That original "light" touch =
may be due
to geometry, or it may be small <BR>> hammers. I don't know =
what you
mean by "modern", (and I assume it is a grand), <BR>> but if =
you
greatly increase key weight, for any reason, you will change the =
<BR>>
character of the touch. Key weight, when taken too far, will slow =
the
action <BR>> down, as well as creating an inertial point of =
diminishing
returns. By this I <BR>> mean, too much lead may make the =
action easier
to play at softer dynamics, but <BR>> as the pianist attempts to play =
louder,
(which means more accleration of the <BR>> key and key speed), the =
inertial
resistance of the lead becomes a major factor <BR>> in the =
resistance.
<BR>> I would take around 50 grams at C 4 to be a =
maximum
downweight, and see <BR>> what the geometry creates on your =
upweight.
The action itself will let you know <BR>> how much blow and dip are
reasonable, so without changing them, you will be <BR>> looking at a
balancing act between hammer weight and key weight. The smaller =
<BR>>
the piano, the less hammer weight you can use. <BR>> Good =
luck,<BR>>
<BR>> Ed Foote RPT </FONT></BODY></HTML>