KS 34: Mason A - The Weighoff
Identifying which keys lift less than target upweight is a sensible starting point for weighing off an action. At the most basic level, any key that will not lift 20...
Christopher Brown |
Chris Brown RPT
KS 34: Mason A - The Weighoff
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KS 8: Bedding the Backrail
Bedding the Backrail: How to proceed when a backrail tests positive for a gap? So far, with no excessive friction or need for repairs, the action has stayed together. Maybe it...
Christopher Brown |
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KS 7: Testing the Backrail Fit
Testing the Backrail Fit: With action fully assembled, keybed clean, spring out, cheekblocks bedded, and glidebolts off keybed, reach through dampers, strings, and action parts with a long screwdriver (or...
Christopher Brown |
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KS 6: Hidden Glidebolts
Hidden Glidebolts: Not all glidebolts show. Unless you are familiar with the make and model of a grand piano, it might be worth the extra effort to pull the action...
Christopher Brown |
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KS 5: Bedding the Cheekblocks
Bedding the Cheekblocks: What are the functions of a cheekblock? In a Steinway grand, a cheekblock provides three important services: positioning the action in-and-out for tone, side-to-side for soft-pedal shifting, and up-and-down to complete...
Christopher Brown |
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KS 4: How Flat is the Keybed?
How Flat is the Keybed? At the piano, with its action out and keybed clean, apply the flat side of your straightedge to the keybed's front, balance, and back rails for...
Christopher Brown |
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KS 3: Shape of the Keybed
Shape of the Keybed: Bedding is the foundation of a grand regulation and piano manufacturers put a lot of effort into providing a flat, stable surface on which to construct this...
Christopher Brown |
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KS 2: Concerning Dags and the Return Spring
Concerning Dags and the Return Spring: First, consider the dag at the back of the keybed (pronounced dog, as in bench dog, thank you David Hughes). Blue painter's tape (useful for...
Christopher Brown |
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KS 1: New Offering in the Offing
A New Offering in the Offing: The Key Steps for Grand Regulating Slideshow plots an effective approach to grand regulation. With this photographic outline for context and continuity, please join me weekly for a short...
Christopher Brown |
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Weighing Off the Grand Action - Part 10
When enthusiasm for a piano rises in the concert pianist, it is a wonderful thing. Their spirit soars, their talents fully manifest, and the listener gets emotional. What can stir...
Christopher Brown |
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Weighing Off the Grand Action - Part 9
Plan by Number? The Grandwork System favors trial-and-error and go-nogo procedures over formulas and numbered measurements. In general, numbers and math empower designers and manufacturers but slow down piano technicians. So, why feature numbers in...
Christopher Brown |
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WEIGHING OFF THE GRAND ACTION – Part 8
The mechanics of a grand action are brilliant, a series of levers that reaches inside the piano while converting finger force into a hammer force that can play strings with...
Christopher Brown |
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WEIGHING OFF THE GRAND ACTION – Part 7
How do we become professionally conversant with the things we think we know? Experience will prove or disprove many details over time but without a concerted effort (and a bunch...
Christopher Brown |
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WEIGHING OFF THE GRAND ACTION - Part 6
Levers: Hammer weights and travel parameters get amplified or de-emphasized depending on the geometry between keytop and hammer crown. Generally, weight reduction at the key equals loss of hammer rise,...
Christopher Brown |
