<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; cha= rset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV> <DIV>Dale Erwin writes:</DIV> <DIV>"Every concert level tech I know likes as close a hammer let off as fea= sible.possible."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If the final decision was "feasible," I agree, if "possible,"&nbsp= ;not so much.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dean May writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue = 2px solid"><FONT face=Arial>The Kawai Shigeru Master Tech said the diamete= r of the string is a good<BR>guide for letoff. And he said nearly no drop.</= FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV>Another "rule of thumb" I have heard is twice the diameter of the core.= This amounts to 1.5 mm tapering to 2 mm on the plain wire as you go do= wn, and about 2.5 mm in the bass (safety factor to stay out of the way of th= e string's greater excursion). This is unnecessarily long on = many pianos, but one diameter is unsafely short on others.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I don't worry too much about the actual letoff measurement. Too close a= nd it's unreliable, too far away and it's insensitive; <EM>but it's not the = same piano to piano</EM>. Each action seems to have a sweet spot where it wo= rks best, and in addition it seems as if there's a small range within which = you really CAN'T tell the difference. For instance, maybe it works equally w= ell between 1 and 1.5 mm, but inside 1 blubbers occasion= ally, and at 2 is beginning to feel unreliable at pianissimo. Then it's= a judgment call which end of the risk you want to take, depending upon who'= s playing what, the condition of the regulating button felt and especially t= he knuckles, and your knowledge of the instrument's nature.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Further, whether you want to have the jack and the balancier "shelf" to= gether also depends upon the artist. You can make a difference in the feel (= and perception of controllability) by changing the timing. I have had them p= refer the balancier to hit a little earlier for a slightly spongier, more re= sistant landing, and it's not hard to accommodate. Conversely, having the ja= ck tender touch slightly early makes for a softer feel, as the wei= ght of the shank stays on the balancier longer. Even though this requires lo= nger letoff, some artists find it more controllable at pp.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bob Davis</DIV></BODY></HTML>