I talked to Samick today, and just as Larry suggested, the basic advice is to start at 10mm and go from there.
Thought people might be interested in the response I received from Jane Jones, VP of Sales/Tech Support, appended below.
Interesting relationship they have there with the mother ship. "with the experience we have had thus far..." It's been 16 years!
-Jim
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SEILER REGULATION SPECS
ED and German grands all have specs for key dip of 10mm, and hammer blow of
45mm. These, of course, are not meant to be absolute for every piano, but they
will work in most cases, and allow for adequate aftertouch. The key height for
these pianos is, I believe, 66mm from keybed to the top of the key molding.
We don't yet have the precise factory specs for Johannes. We believe they are the
same as those for the EDs; but with the experience we have had thus far, given a
10mm key dip, you usually have to decrease hammer blow significantly (to about
40mm, in some cases) in order to get acceptable aftertouch. Our rule of thumb
has been to start with a sample note using a 10mm key dip, and find out how high
the hammer has to be to get the aftertouch needed. If the blow distance is 43mm
or more, keep key dip at 10mm. If it's less than 43mm, increase key dip a little to
get the hammer blow within an acceptable range. [We find an acceptable range in
these grands for hammer blow is between 43 and 47mm, and key dip is between
10 and 10.5mm].
For ED and SE uprights, the 'specs', such as they are, are usually 46mm hammer
blow, and 10.5mm key dip. But those figures can't be relied on entirely. Seiler's
production manager and head tech in Germany, won't even publish a spec sheet.
Every piano is going to be a little different.
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Jim Moy
Piano Technician
Moy Piano Service, LLC
http://www.moypiano.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 05-17-2024 10:03
From: Larry Messerly
Subject: Seiler regulation parameters
Without other guides I just start with 10mm dip and adjust from there for blow and after touch
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Larry Messerly, RPT
Bringing Harmony to Homes
www.lacrossepianotuning.com
ljmesserly@gmail.com
928-899-7292
Original Message:
Sent: 05-16-2024 18:43
From: Jim Moy
Subject: Seiler regulation parameters
Hello everyone, I'm looking for some advice on regulation of two pianos I have seen recently. Both are post-Samick, Johannes Seiler models, a GS-186 and a GS-208, both in excellent condition, both regulated for 3/8" dip and 1-7/8" blow, and let off somewhat wide, both feel "squishy" to play.
The copy of the PTG Action Handbook I have only lists Ed. Seiler models of similar size with 10/45mm dip/blow, respectively, different enough from what I encountered to think it may be causing said playability issues, both also having various friction issues. The 208 has some serious front rail bushing friction with any lateral force applied.
The Samick phone line is past their business hours so I thought I'd check here before I call again tomorrow to see if they can guide me on what the correct parameters are. Anyone with experience with this? The 3/8, 1-7/8 numbers seem common enough that I wonder if someone simply used those values without consulting Seiler, but I imagine they could've been changed by the factory for whatever reason.
-Jim
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Jim Moy, RPT
Moy Piano Service, LLC
http://www.moypiano.com
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