Dear Pianoexpert, good morning! I recently purchased my first piano (A Burger & Jacobi 110EU) and I am starting to have some doubts. If you are wondering why I made this choice... it goes without saying, my point of comparison was the Yamaha B1, which unfortunately left a very bad impression on me. It seemed empty to me. Compared to it, mine seemed much warmer and more pleasant. However... I will present some concerns to you:
1 - There is a certain "inhomogeneity" of timbre along the keyboard. The octave below middle C gives me the impression of being "impeded," as if the strings were partially dampened. I had attributed this to the fact that the piano still needed its first tuning, but the phenomenon is always present. According to the technician and my teacher, the piano simply needs to be broken in.
2 - It seems to me that the escapement is not adjusted uniformly. This could cause me difficulty with p and pp, or is it just a problem with me?
3 - The technician who tuned it claims that "it's fine as it is," and that voicing the hammers is not an operation to be performed on such a new piano.
You will have guessed that I am plagued by the doubt of having made a hasty choice... what do you think? Thanks!
For the sound. Check that the dampers in that area lift fully.
To understand if it depends on the hammer rail or specifically on the bridge pressure: Play a key in the affected area and count the sound decay. Repeat the operation by plucking the string with a fingernail or a pick, naturally lifting the damper well. If the times are longer, then it may depend on the hammers. In any case, the bridge pressure at those points should be checked. If the strings are copper-wound, it could also depend on them. As a last resort, they could be partially replaced.
Adjustment is fundamental. The hammer must escape approximately 2 mm from the string. In the bass, perhaps 3mm (especially if a mute is intended).
The important thing is the after-blow. After leaving the hammer cap, the escapement lever must still have a small stroke called after-escapement. This depends on the correct key dip measurement and the uniformity of this measurement across the entire keyboard. The hammer check, of about 15mm, is also fundamental for good repetition.
Attention: I remind you that the key lever must have a correct height, such that the escapement lever passes freely under the cap when the hammer is in its resting position. However, there must not be any play between the two parts.
some measuring dimes are needed. You can create small blocks of wood or hard cardboard. As for the sound, we wait. 20 seconds seem discrete to me. We need to hear the attack and the decay. After the decay, the sound must rise again and prolong. It could depend on poorly spun strings... perhaps.
It doesn't seem like such an ominous sound to me. We need to see if all the strings are struck simultaneously. It is also difficult to give a judgment without seeing the instrument
