upright - repeated notes

[dazed]

Ignorant Q maybe - but I've not noticed it before...

If I press a key to its maximum depth then slowly let it up to anything other than its rest position (even 1mm from its rest position) - then press down again - the key 'locks' - is this normal and if so can you do any damage by pressing hard when it happens?

1996/7 U1

[PianoGuy]

Ignorant Q maybe - but I've not noticed it before...

If I press a key to its maximum depth then slowly let it up to anything other than its rest position (even 1mm from its rest position) - then press down again - the key 'locks' - is this normal?

On an upright, yes.

and if so can you do any damage by pressing hard when it happens?

No. Not usually

[dazed]

Thanks.

[fumbler]

Hi,

It depends what you mean by locks. On my upright if the key is pressed without bringing it back to the full rest position then it travels back to the fully depressed position. There's no sound, and all touch has gone out of the window, but it doesn't lock. Do you mean that your key jams in the half-depressed (or wherever it is) position? That would be horrible.

Do some upright actions allow the key to depress and some 'lock'?

Rgds.

[PianoGuy]

Hi,

It depends what you mean by locks. On my upright if the key is pressed without bringing it back to the full rest position then it travels back to the fully depressed position. There's no sound, and all touch has gone out of the window, but it doesn't lock. Do you mean that your key jams in the half-depressed (or wherever it is) position? That would be horrible.
.

Good point.

I assumed that the key was doing the former. It should still be able to be depressed to its full extent.

[LaValse]

The key stops at about 80% down key travel - feels spongy then as if you're putting pressure on something you should not be... the hammer and damper are slightly out of their rest positions at this point.

LaValse (was Dazed).

[Barrie Heaton]

Sound like the tapes are too tight or one of the slap rails are too close - if you play softly do the hammers double strike a note


Barrie,

[LaValse]

No - I find it hard to play pp or ppp on it at anything other than dead slow but no repeated notes. I'm noticing it I think because maybe my legato has become sloppy playing the digital for a year - for example when playing CBC say, the first C is sometimes not fully up by the time I play it again... I've never played an upright before - grand or digital previously...

I didn't know an upright's una corda pedal, isn't, either

[Barrie Heaton]

OK

Could be that you are feeling the after touch + ¾ the way down the damper spoon kicks in and then the hammers sets off - if the notches are worn that will make the set off more prominent and result in a sluggish return to rest for the jack .

Next time you have it tuned ask the tuner to look at the Jacks to see if they are rough and if the notches are worn.

Barrie,

[LaValse]

OK, Thanks. I have still have tuning and voicing as part of the deal to be done at some point...

[Bill Kibby]

It always seems odd to me: If your car went wrong you would take it to a mechanic, yet people always assume they can fix pianos without the benefit of the years of training that we technicians have.

[PianoGuy]

It always seems odd to me: If your car went wrong you would take it to a mechanic, yet people always assume they can fix pianos without the benefit of the years of training that we technicians have.

And the relative pittance people are prepared to pay for it.

A service engineer for Zanussi or Neff can charge more for a mere call-out than most tuners charge for an hour of expert work.

The only technicians who seem to be able to charge a sensible fee in the UK are the truly excellent handful and the more numerous arrogant cretins who believe they're part of them.

[Gill the Piano]

Ho yes...had a customer who carped at seventy quid for 2 hours' hard treble (as in triple) tuning of a piano which hadn't been done for fifteen years...and then merrily handed ninety to the knuckledragger who spent 15 mins on her washing machine (including tea and biscuit troughing time). My training - 3 years college and 20+ experience. The knuckledragger...?