It's time to rethink touch weight on our university's Yamaha CF (1986).
When I replaced the hammers, I followed the advice from David Stanwood in an online masterclass I had attended. He had suggested that a concert piano in a performance hall should have a strike weight profile of not less than Zone 9, as defined in his protocols. This means a strike weight of 12.4g on note 1, 11.8g on note 16, 10.5g on note 40, and 8.4g on note 65.
Stanwood also specifies a front-weight ceiling, which works out to 41.3g on note 1, 37.5g on note 16, 30g on note 40 and 18.6g on note 65.
Strike ratio worked out to around 5.8 on this action. It became clear that if I followed the suggestions above, my balance weight would be a little higher than I would consider ideal, 40 to 41g in the lower notes, dropping to a little under 38g in the top half.
I decided to go with the recommendations above, knowing that I would have easy access to the piano to make adjustments and corrections when I saw how it turned out.
I elected to set front weight right at the Stanwood ceiling. This meant removing some weight from the key sticks in the overstrung section, and adding modest amounts of weight above that. I chose not do drop below the ceiling, in order to minimize my issue with excess balance weight.
I chose to install Renner Bluepoint hammers, and manipulated the weight to achieve something very close to Stanwood Zone 9.
The original hammers were well worn, so I couldn't establish their original weight profile. I have them archived, so going back to measure what they were at the time of removal remains an option.
Early user feedback indicated that the action felt heavier than expected, and that the tone was overly subdued. I did some mid-to low shoulder deep needling with the objective of opening up the tone, then proceeded to use B72 to build the tone. Several months of use have provided some progress in the playing in of the hammers.
The arrival of a new piano instructor in our music department opened the door for another opportunity for user feedback. The new instructor, in collaboration with another trusted artist in our community, spent some focused time at the piano. The following is feedback that came from that visit:
"A couple quick observations: the Yamaha needs to be a lot lighter of an action and perhaps brightened up, as it is quite heavy and a bit veiled in tone. Right now it's a bit of a chore to play on and needn't be. It doesn't really feel like a Yamaha. It has some lovely sound though, and the bass is actually nicer than the Fazioli I find."
I am considering my options. I am leaning toward reducing hammer weight, as the hall in which the piano is used is not monstrous in its proportions. Transgressing the Front Weight Ceiling in the bass is also a thought, since the factory front weight was somewhat higher than the level to which I adjusted it.
"It doesn't really feel like a Yamaha." I guess I need to learn what a Yamaha really feels like.
Thoughts?
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Floyd Gadd RPT
Regina SK
(306) 502-9103
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