As already mentioned in my introduction, I purchased a used piano from a private individual, a Krauss (Sauter) mod. 182 from the mid-'80s; I believe that the piano, or at least so it seemed to me reading in English, is called Vpiano). The piano was purchased blindly without testing it at what I believe was an advantageous price. Once home, I immediately noticed that something was wrong; a very heavy keyboard and very low volume. I called the first tuner, who limited himself to some adjustments and pointed out that, based on its construction, it should have had a great voice, but he offered me no solution other than trying to replace the hammer rail (martelliera) with costs that were prohibitive for me. I called a second one; he checked and lubricated the entire action, but the keyboard remained heavy, and regarding the sound, he told me to try re-voicing the hammers. I knew, because the former owner had told me, that the hammer rail had been replaced and, in my opinion, the work had been performed very poorly and with unsuitable hammers. I tried to ask Sauter if they could help me understand whether the hammer rail was suitable or not; Sauter told me to contact Renner, who in turn referred me back to Sauter. Having received no information, I began to research because I knew nothing about piano mechanics. To make a long story short: first, I tried to shave the hammers, and at that point the voice came out—and what volume! But the keyboard continued to remain heavy. Subsequently, I purchased a standard Abel hammer rail, one of those already pre-tuned in smaller dimensions (83/75 instead of 88/80), which I replaced personally (total cost including glue and tools to disassemble the hammers was about 210 euros). After replacing the hammer rail, the sound became interesting (except for some high notes between the penultimate and last section, probably due to an imprecise rod length). As for the keyboard, however, for almost the entire range, it returned to optimal weight, except for the last section of the treble which results in being slightly heavier, perhaps because the key seats (cavalletti) of the last section do not have the return spring of the cap assembly (forcola). I must say that despite improvising as a "technician," the results have been quite flattering, but I am not fully satisfied. I am now intending to replace the hammer rail again, and this time also changing the rods, the cap assembly (rullino), and the cap assembly (forcola), and I would like to make as few mistakes as possible. Regarding the drilling height, I feel fairly confident; I have more doubts about the horizontal angle of the hole and the total height of the hammer. Master, can you help me? Thank you and sorry if I have bored you.
Member
Opening post by Gidielle
- Posts
- 3
- City
- Margherita di Savoia