<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" = xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" = xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue> <div class=Section1> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= <o:p> </o:p>= A softer punching feels softer but allows for a less defined aftertouch = and <?/x-tad-bigger><?/color><?color><?param = 0000,0000,807F><?x-tad-bigger>partially <?/x-tad-bigger><?/color><?color><?param = 0000,0000,8080><?x-tad-bigger>absorbs the energy. This becomes more clear if we think again about the sea saw with the two children. If we remove the car tyre and replace it with a more compact = piece of rubber, the impact will be harder because it is not as much cushioned by = the more flexible car tyre. A firmer punching feels less soft but allows for a more defined = aftertouch and absorbs less energy. <?/x-tad-bigger><?/color><?color><?param = 0000,0000,807F><?x-tad-bigger>If we again think about the sea saw, then it is undeniable that the harder = impact will also be felt on the other side of the sea saw, which literally = means a harder impact on the string, because the firmer punching effects the = outcome, as Stephen Birkett noted. <o:p></o:p> <?/x-tad-bigger><?/color><?color><?param 0000,0000,8080><?x-tad-bigger> André Oorebeek<o:p></o:p> I may have missed something, but isn’t the hammer disconnected from the = rest of the action—the wippen and key—when the jack moves away from = the knuckle, which is to say the hammer free flies to the string with its = developed momentum. This free flight means the keys is no longer driving the = hammer. So, how can the resilience of the keys “cushion” (front rail punching) have any thing to do with the impact of the hammer to the = string and affect tone?<o:p></o:p> Paul = C<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> </div> </body> </html>