[Ref. 100223 MMDigest "Duo-Art Keybed Shifter & Hammer Rail Lifter"]

Hello MMDers;  in the 10.02.23 Digest, Pat DeWitt asks about the
routing of tubing for his 1929 Steinway OR Duo-Art.  I have restored
several of the later style Duo-Art grands which have both hammer rail
lift and action shift ("una corda") soft pedal.

The addition of a pneumatic to shift the action for "soft" began around
1926.  At first it was a rather large (and somewhat sluggish) pneumatic
located under the keybed that operated the action shift lever (they
used an extended length lever) in just the same way as the left side
foot pedal.  Aeolian later put the pneumatic above the keybed, on the
far left (bass) side of the action -- this type pushes directly on the
keyboard frame, somewhat faster (but still a bit slow).

Having the benefit of handling several of these instruments which still
had the factory tubing in place, I can tell you that the engineers at
Duo-Art were none to certain which was the best was to handle the soft
pedal function.  I have seen them set up from factory so that the soft
pedal signal from the roll operated the action shift only; in such
cases the hammer rail lift came on only when the modify lever was in
the "soft" position.

I've also seen them tubed the exact opposite way, so that the signal
on the roll operated the hammer rail lift, and the modify lever in
"soft" position caused the action to shift.

Operating the action shift from the roll is satisfactory on the
"classical" music rolls, where, presumably, the pedal was recorded
just as the artist used it.  But I think it is quite unsatisfactory
on most of the "pop" music -- they use the pedal function frequently
almost as a dynamic level, bobbing up and down frequently (and
quickly).  The vast majority of the rolls were coded this way.

My solution, for my own piano and for customers who choose to allow
me to do this minor modification, is simply to install a switch which
allows the user to choose which type of pedal he wishes to have for a
particular recording.  I've done several of these.  On some, I installed
the switch visibly in the spoolbox (way down on the lower left side of
the spool box; there's just enough room to sneak it in there.  In such
cases I use genuine Aeolian hardware (so it all looks very "factory").
Just recently, I installed one in a customer's art case Steinway AR.
He didn't want anything showing, so I put the switch up inside the
upper action compartment (accessible by lifting the hinged cover, but
a little less convenient).

I did some where I used a three position switch: the choice is "una
corda" only, hammer rail lift only, or both -- a bit overkill.  It
looks funny with both pedals coming on at the same time: the keys dip
a bit as the hammer rail lifts, while the keyboard shifts to the right
as the una corda comes on.  (You can get a bit seasick watching it,
but arguably, that gives you the maximum "soft" effect.)

I don't feel too bad making this type of modification for a couple
reasons: (1) Aeolian was a bit ambivalent as to which type soft should
be controlled by the roll, and (2) it enhances the performance of the
instrument.  It is also totally reversible (for the purist).

While on the subject of soft, it's always bothered me that Aeolian
was also unsure of how to handle minimum intensity with pedal "on".
Some instruments have a pallet which opens when the soft pedal comes
on; it seems the earlier pianos "tee" this signal in with Accompaniment
accordion #2.  Later instruments "tee" this in to Accomp. number 1.

This has always bothered me because in either situation you can never
have true "zero" dynamic level when the pedal is "on".  (The latest
installations don't do it either.)  This situation must have bothered
the editors whose job it was to insert the dynamic signals.  It's hard
enough to control a Duo-Art accurately, let alone having to make the
rolls play on the different type installations.  Hmmm...

Tom Ahearn - "Player Piano Service" from the Northeast,
but presently busy in the Pacific Northwest.