Hello Folks!  Another day, another dilemma.

About a year ago I had the hammers replaced in my Haines Bros. Ampico A
grand.  The job was done by a reputable local RPT and, as far as
playing the piano by hand goes, I have no complaints.  The tone has
improved markedly although, as one might expect, the touch is somewhat
heavier than it was, but is still within the range of typical pianos.

I grumbled a bit about the heavier hammers but thought I would be able
to adjust the pneumatic expression to compensate.

My problem is that no matter how much I fiddle with the expression
adjustments I cannot get it to play properly on short (and not
necessarily all that soft) notes (e.g., one perforation long).  It
frequently skips the note or plays it too weakly.  This is even with
the expression set to play more loudly than normal.  One might say that
statically the piano is fine, but dynamically there are problems.

My theory is that, since it was playing reasonably well on the previous
set of almost-down-to-the-wood hammers, the pneumatic system is unable
to transfer enough energy to the heavier hammers during the now-too-
brief period that they are being accellerated.

The technician put an awful lot of work into the job and I don't want
to complain too bitterly.  He doesn't usually work on players (although
he seems very interested in them) and it is entirely possible that it
is my 15-year old restoration of the Ampico that may be at fault.  I
also don't wont to get in there and do a not-really-necessary rebuild
if I end up with virtually the same result.

I would be most interested in comments regarding how to deal with
increased hammer weight, if such is at all possible.

Jim Heyworth,
Sechelt, B.C., Canada
mailto:james_heyworth@sunshine.net