Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Mason & Hamlin AA Regulation

The piano of the day is a rebuilt Mason & Hamlin AA in excellent condition. I had to adjust some hammers because they where only hitting the left and middle strings. Three bass hammers had to be shifted to the right because they where barely touching the right string.
Letoff needs adjustment and the hammers need to come up off the rest cushions. The blow distance was too great as well. Rep spring tension was not consistent and hardly any in the bass string. I will be doing some regulation in about 2 weeks altough i would have preferred to regulate it today. The customer wanted it tuned - it had to be brought up to pitch since it was 10 cents flat. This was my first chance to talk to the customer and explain regulation and other issues. Last year she was not there and I could not get the key blocks out. The piano at that time was wild and the temp and rh where in the 80's !!!! Since then the hvac has been changed.

Anyway I am looking for some ideas to change the touch response because the client is a serious classical pianist playing pieces with lots of trills and repetition. She called it lag time and wants to have the hammers hit the strings without pressing the keys down too far. I know that some of the changes I make will have an effect but am looking for some ideas from those of you who have worked on Mason AA's for some tips. If someone has some regulation specs for an AA that would be helpful as well. I realize that specs are only a guide and may have to be tossed out . My plan is to do some work on an octave or two to get it to a point that meets the clients desires and then duplicate things on the rest of the piano.

The specs I posted recently work well, and agree with a sheet I got from them when they were still in E. Rochester. Adjust them to those specs, and see how she likes it. I bet it hasn't been regulated since it was rebuilt.

JimBob,

After doing a basic regulation of the piano, all 88 notes, I would be interested in actually watching her play.

I would be interested in seeing if she plays deliberatly to the bottom of the keystroke or relyes on bouncing and frequency.

Lag time could also be from checking too low causing the key to have to come too far up to re-engage.

I have some players that are very strong, that prefer tighter hammer flange pinning together with stronger rep spring tension and slightly more drop.

Others that are masters of ppp and prefer things like lighter rep springs, very close let off and minimal drop.

Also, shortening blow distance, increasing after touch works for some people looking for a certian response.

These three of several possibilities.

May I recommend doing a basic regulation on all 88 notes. Don't skimp on aftertouch. set the checking up at 1/2 inch, not too light nor too heavy on the rep springs.

Certianly take touch weight measurments, especially since the action was rebuilt. Note the parts used.

Depending on her expectations and "budget" I might recommend to her that this is a good first step to knowing her as a player and making some "custom" adjustments.

I would enjoy hearing how this progresses Jimbob, and some of the ideas you tried.

Best to You.
Larry

Thank you one and all for your ideas. I was putting together a regulation plan that starts off with some good basic regulation. This will form a solid foundation for a custom regulation tailored to her needs and desires. I did observe a number of things that I will work on and use as building blocks. It is hard to sell a full regulation but doing it in installments should work fine in this case. Unlike many clients she has an appreciation of pianos and wants to do the right thing. Some of the simple things I did today such as adjusting about 12 hammers made her really happy. The hammers are all new Abels with new shanks and flanges. The whips are original. I did not have time to check the whips more closely but they all appeared to be in good shape. Perhaps a checking the pinning on a few will give me an idea of slow action centers etc.
I agree with both recommendations that basic regulation should be done. Hammer spacing is definitely in issue. For example none of the high treble hammers shift far enough to the right- they all hit 3 strings when shifted.
The idea of low checking is a good one. The checking did look pretty low to me. The backchecks are all new so there is no reason such as wear . I am willing to bet that only a little of regulation was done after the rebuild and that some re-regulation will really improve things.

When I returned home I had a call from another Mason & Hamlin Grand owner. OOOOHHH WEEE
I'm on a roll.

Jimbob.

Just for clarification, I was suggesting checking closer to the string. As you may already know, the closer to the string the hammer checks, the less you have to raise the key from the bottom position to re engage, presuming the balance of appropriate regulation.

Other than that, go get 'em !!!

Jim, when did you get your Petrof/Nordiska training?

Fall of 2003. Geneva International sponsored Tech training in Chicago. Excellent training by Joe Swenson and company. I was also privileged to attend Yamaha's Little Red Schoolhouse and was trained by one of the masters LeRoy Edwards.

I understand what you are saying about the BC height.

Larry... finished the regulation and the client was extremely happy with the result. The piano had all new Renners but original whippens. Hammer blow was about 2" with shanks on the rest cushions; rep spring tension was inconsistent and mostly weak; backchecks needed to be spaced and aligned on many hammer tails; Knuckle to jack alignment needed to be adjusted; letoff was too far from the strings. I also ended up spacing some hammers that where only hitting on the edge on bichord bass strings and some of the trichord unisons. Some hammers where checking low and I adjusted the angle of the back checks. The result was a major change in power, sound and better response/control of the hammer. While I had the action out I grpahited the dowel inserts in the keybed and burnished them followed by a little Protek. Una Chroda- left shift was like greased lightening . Client is a serious classical pianist and was very, very happy with the result.

It was an excellent piano to work on and the bass is just outstanding- deep- clear as a bell.
The best news is she wants to be put on a 6 month schedule. I wish I had more clients like this but when you get a chance to work on an instrument like this Mason it is a privilege.

Good job Jimbob. Have you ever tried McLube 444a liquid insted of graphite, it's less messy and works a lot better.

Nice Job Jim.

I love Mason and Hamlin AA's.

Time to lite up a Macanudo, sit back and enjoy....

I have some cans of McLube in my shop and may take them next time. I use graphite sticks that I bought at Michaels Craft store. I rub the solid graphite on the dowel inserts and burnish it in with a felt mute or hammer head felt. When I was at Petrof we broke down to 2 man teams to prep some new grands. The 2 techs in front of me emptied a can of McLube on the keybed or so it seemed. I'm glad no one lit up a Macanudo. Every time I do this job on the keybed I have to smile.
Its now 4am and I have a job this morning on a Story and Clark in a few hours. The jack flange came out of the whippen mortise/saddle. I also have to work on an old upright but at least I get to tune a Steinway for a church today or tomorrow.