Ja, Herr Doktor, ze answer iz buried deeeep wizin ze struggle between ze ego und ze id.and may be subconsciously exaggerating the problem in others he's seen
Sorry
Bluthner Model A
Moderators: Feg, Gill the Piano, Melodytune
Pianoguy, honestly I really don't think I was exaggerating. The problem was both aural and visual, as I could hear and see the hammers striking twice the strings. I invite those who don't believe me to try some Mozart and play mp p and pp the black keys in the second and third octaves (black keys were the most problematic ones) with the sostenuto pedal. When I tried other Mozarts in the shops and at Kemble's, the people there had to admit that there was something wrong, however they all said the piano just needed a regulation. Fair enough, but with my piano they didn't manage to solve the problem.
Here follows the report by my technician (he's a very reputed one):
Just to confirm what I found when I saw your piano today. I was fully expecting to perform the usual remedy of increasing the depth of touch to allow more 'after touch', the absence of which may have been causing your hammers to bubble on the strings when played pp. I quickly discovered that this was not the cause and fully covered all the obvious faults of regulation (negative rake on hammer shanks, jack slap rail too close, damper slap rail too close, stiff tapes, etc) which may have been responsible. I could increase the set off distance to over 6mm but as I demonstrated to you, this has an adverse effect on the touch. I have replaced one of the butt cushions with felt which is twice the thickness of the original with partial success - I feel that this, coupled with the jack springs being too strong, may be the solution. However, this is more than just a simple repair as it involves stripping down the action.
I also noticed something else which concerns me - when I removed the action from the piano I found it to be under a considerable twisting strain rather than slotting into the action bolts easily.
As this piano is almost new and still under guarantee I believe that Kemble should be made aware of these problems and suggest that the piano is returned to the factory. I would be grateful if you could keep me informed of the progress and final outcome so that I am prepared when I meet other pianos of the same model.
Here follows the report by my technician (he's a very reputed one):
Just to confirm what I found when I saw your piano today. I was fully expecting to perform the usual remedy of increasing the depth of touch to allow more 'after touch', the absence of which may have been causing your hammers to bubble on the strings when played pp. I quickly discovered that this was not the cause and fully covered all the obvious faults of regulation (negative rake on hammer shanks, jack slap rail too close, damper slap rail too close, stiff tapes, etc) which may have been responsible. I could increase the set off distance to over 6mm but as I demonstrated to you, this has an adverse effect on the touch. I have replaced one of the butt cushions with felt which is twice the thickness of the original with partial success - I feel that this, coupled with the jack springs being too strong, may be the solution. However, this is more than just a simple repair as it involves stripping down the action.
I also noticed something else which concerns me - when I removed the action from the piano I found it to be under a considerable twisting strain rather than slotting into the action bolts easily.
As this piano is almost new and still under guarantee I believe that Kemble should be made aware of these problems and suggest that the piano is returned to the factory. I would be grateful if you could keep me informed of the progress and final outcome so that I am prepared when I meet other pianos of the same model.
ermy73 wrote:
"In the meanwhile I tried other Mozart Kemble and noticed that the problem was in all of them."
The K121 Mozart that I tried had no double strike problem and delivered a most satisfying performance belying it's price tag. It outperformed both Kemble Conservatoires that sat next it in the showroom, confirming how much variance in voicing, intonation and regulation can exist.
Back on topic, my Bluthner A arrives in 2 days and I can't wait!
"In the meanwhile I tried other Mozart Kemble and noticed that the problem was in all of them."
The K121 Mozart that I tried had no double strike problem and delivered a most satisfying performance belying it's price tag. It outperformed both Kemble Conservatoires that sat next it in the showroom, confirming how much variance in voicing, intonation and regulation can exist.
Back on topic, my Bluthner A arrives in 2 days and I can't wait!
Well it's here; the 'A' lives up to expectation perfectly, with a sweet, pure and rich singing voice and an amazingly balanced range. And a new owner who is totally chuffed!
Thanks to all who contributed to the decision via this forum. Your comments were most helpful if only to confirm that one should trust one's ears and one's instinct! It's been a good deal of fun too.
Thanks to all who contributed to the decision via this forum. Your comments were most helpful if only to confirm that one should trust one's ears and one's instinct! It's been a good deal of fun too.
