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MMD > Archives > February 2010 > 2010.02.15 > 06Prev  Next


Regulating the Piano and Player Action
By Diane deTar

Here's a trick that may help Larry Schuette in regulating the Steinway.
I always replace the hammer return springs and sometimes the jack
springs as well.  The hammer return springs loose their tension and
do not work as well as they did when new.

I was having problems with a 1906 piano and did everything to get
the action to let-off correctly.  Increasing the dip worked, but then
the action didn't feel right.  When I replaced the old springs in the
action everything worked great.  Now, when rebuilding old uprights,
I always replace the hammer return springs.  Larry may have already
done this but if not it would be worth a try.

Player action regulation just involves taking out the lost motion where
the pneumatics finger sits under the wippen.  And, secondly, setting
the regulating button so that the hammer does not block the string.
This regulating rail actually replaces the keys.  The keys can only go
down so far, and with them out of the picture you need something that
will stop the hammer from blocking on the strings.

The problem in doing the stack regulation is having access to the back
of the stack, so you need to disassemble the top portion to do this.
Of course, all players are a little bit different, but basically that's
it in a nutshell.

Hope this helps.

Diane DeTar
La Mesa, California


(Message sent Mon 15 Feb 2010, 16:35:09 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Action, Piano, Player, Regulating

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