<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=rol= e_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV> <DIV>The operation itself and the responses to my post have certainly proved= instructive.  Thanks to everyone who has offered opinions and information.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>While I noticed very little of the negative effects Ed or David describ= ed, I am not by any stretch a concert level pianist.  I would be curious to= see what someone who really knows how to play would say about the feel and response.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And as a clarification, the reason I did the work on the second piano w= as because the owner had tried the first one and wanted hers to feel the same way!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dean's post just below offers an interesting point.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><<Just a little clarification, work=force X distance. It is the= force<BR>required to move the mass of the damper lever that causes work to be<BR>done. This force would of course be greater on the planet Jupiter. ;-)<BR><BR>It seems to me that also entering the equation is the amount of inertial<BR>energy of the entire system. If the damper lever is contacted earlier in<BR>the keystroke the system is moving slower and has less inertia= l energy.<BR>If it contacts later the velocity is also greater at that point a= nd so<BR>is the inertial energy. With the greater inertial energy any force the<BR>system encounters like the damper lever becomes less consequential. <BR><BR>Consider a 4x4 post in the ground being hit by a car. If the car is only<BR>going 5 mph it will probably stop the car with a pretty good jolt. If<BR>the car is going 150 mph you won't even feel it. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dean<BR>Dean May             cell 812.239.3359<BR>PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272<BR>Terre Haute IN  47802<BR>>></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 1/19/2006 6:37:29 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, davidlovepianos@comcast.net writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><= FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size= =2>I agree with Ed here.  While it will change the amount of weight at the<BR>po= int at which the damper lever is engaged (not before and not with the<BR>dampe= r pedal employed) the question is whether it's desirable.  In addition<BR>to the greater difficulty in legato playing, the pianist will sense a loss<BR>of tonal control at the other end of tone production that = we sometimes<BR>forget about which is the timing of the shut off.  A too= rapid shutoff when<BR>the finger starts to lift makes the piano feel choke= d and will actually<BR>change the pianists ability to relax the hand immedia= tely after the stroke<BR>which can have a negative impact on tone control by changing the fluid and<BR>flexible feeling in the wrist.  In other wo= rds, it can force an unnatural<BR>technique.  Wouldn't do it.   <BR><BR>David Love<BR>davidlovepianos@comcast.net <BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf<BR>Of A440A@aol.com<BR>Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 3:19 AM<BR>To: pianotech@ptg.org<BR>Subject: Re= : Lightening touch by changing damper timing redux<BR><BR>David writes:<BR><BR><< I've read opinions about this where some techs say= that changing  damper <BR>timing "doesn't really lighten the touch, i= t only gives that  perception."  <BR>As a <BR>piano player, the difference was quite noticeable in  terms of weight and <BR>control.  As a tech, I noticed a five gram difference  when = I measured it.  <BR>The best two features of this operation?  1).  It  works   2).  It's easily<BR><BR>reversib= le. >><BR><BR>Greetings, <BR>     Yes, the later damper l= ift reduces the effort the pianist must apply to<BR><BR>the action, however, i= t is only effective when the pedal is not depressed.  <BR>   &nb= sp; The worst feature of this operation is that it becomes virtually <BR>impossible to play legato  on a piano like this and the overall sonority<BR>goes down.  <BR>In dealing with pianists that have encountered such an action set-up,  I<BR>have <BR>had complaints that= the piano sounds brittle and shallow.  <BR>Regards,<BR><BR><BR><BR>Ed Foo= te RPT <BR>http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html<BR>www.uk-piano.org/edfoote= /well_tempered_piano.html<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"= >Dave Stahl<BR><BR>Dave Stahl Piano Service<BR>650-224-3560<U><BR><A href="http://www.dstahlpiano.net/">http://dstahlpiano.net/</A></U></FONT><= /DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>