<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Isaac OLEG wrote:   Hello and Happy Birthday, Richard ! Thanks my friend ! I believe the 10mm rule (or conclusion) mean that this dip is the most comfortable as a generality. It certainly is the most common, and that infers some general agreement on the matter. But this does vary from person to person, and is not always the most optimal for every given action. Now this doesnt mean that I think 10 mm is a bad standard or starting point. It just means I dont feel like its justified to go out and shoot the tech next door, or the customer down the street because he / she prefers something else that is also quite workable. May be some very large handed pianists could (if they where aware of) ask for a keyboard regulation at a different dip/level, but I like the logic to work with a comfortable dip, and regulate the remaining of the action to concur. Some people like hard pillows, some like soft. Again I say its not really our job to insist on such conformities. Especially when they dont quite work out anyways. I've never seen a pianist checking the dip, always they check the aftertouch to see if it please them, most educated then know they can ask for a little aftertouch change in a little time. A very good point. One which defininatly requires a degree of flexibility on the 10 mm thing. Either that or some other regulating parameter, most likely a series of regulating comprimises that include dip.... hence the +/- 0.2 or other such leaway we see in spec manuals. And if aftertouch is indeed the main concern.... then its much easier to see why some manufactures opt for deeper or more shallow dips.... because this allows other action configuation changes.... for example a lower ratio and higher SW.  That I acknowledge the viability of these choices says nothing about my own personal preferences... except to say that I prefer the "to each their own" in this matter.   I regulated a S&S b last week, that had Abel heads on it. The heads where too tall, and the tails too long. Working with 10 mm was not an applicable solution (while I tried at first), as I obtained too much aftertouch, with the long tails the touch became very bad. But I hade it working at 9.85mm , shanks almost on the cushions, and that was the less bad I could obtain.   Good point. Course purists would say you should change the hammers and get it all "right". But there you have it.   If regulated at 9.5 (factory spec) , not enough sound, and an action that lack responsiveness. This kind of comment comes up a lot really, and I think is perhaps part of the reason why many in our trade have opted for the opposited end of the field. Little dip, high ratio, light hammers, low mass. Yet a lot of folks tend in this direction too... what can ya say... tastes is tastes :) Old Schimmel grand's where intended for 10.25 or 10.5, Kaway are said for 10.25, but if you change the soft punching for better (more firm) ones, you can regulate to 10 mm dip, and you recognize immediately that you have the correct touch on these strange actions For the most I also use 10mm as standard, and 45 to 48 blow. Let off and drop tho are determinants for me. The jack has to just come out from under the knuckle and just barely so. If I need to adjust dip or blow to get that I do. Otherwise I have to dig deeper in to the action to find out what gives. Which of course one does if one is getting paid for the further work :) Anyway again I discover how much time is lost in regulation when incorrect parts have been fitted. You can say that again !! :) Regards. Have a nice Sunday Isaac OLEG Same too you Isacc.   -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. UiB, Bergen, Norway <A HREF="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A> <A HREF="http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html">http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html</A>  </html>