Four days ago, the long-awaited acoustic upright piano finally arrived at my home, a Kaway BL 31 from 1978; the sound is beautiful, powerful, and clear. However, I noticed that in some keys I felt a step... I removed the lid to check the cause of this issue and discovered that:
1) the action is very, very dusty...
2) the action, meaning the wippen and the levers, are made of plastic, not wood as I thought... (only the hammers and dampers are made of wood...)
3) in some areas, especially the central ones, it seems that the escapement lever struggles to lift the wippen, and therefore I feel this "step" when I press the key... I don't know if it is the felt that is damaged or the escapement lever (made of plastic).
I wanted to kindly ask Mr. Ferrarelli how to resolve these problems, if it is possible even without the help of a technician...
The instrument was refurbished to new two years ago! Anyway, it is very dusty, it has dust bunnies everywhere!! anyway as soon as I can tonight or tomorrow I will take the photos and post them here!
Resize them to 800 in width if you can't do it; if they are very large, send me an email by clicking HERE and including one photo per email. I will shrink them and insert them for you.
Dear Matteo, I think I have realized what the problem is.
I don't know if you paid a lot or a little for this piano and I hope you tested it before purchasing. (Did you purchase it? Or is it perhaps a family piano?)
Alright. When we encounter mixed materials, we are almost always in trouble. This is my idea. I cannot understand what damn savings companies can achieve with this "philosophy". Of course, this does not apply to Carbon. It seems to be a reliable material.
I noticed that the escapement lever is pivoted to the capstan with a Teflon washer (or so it seems to me). Very often, moisture absorption is entirely handled by the felt around the pin, which causes irreversible friction. Then there is a lot of dust. It is necessary to check the general operation and especially the friction of the center pins. It is a job that must be entrusted to a competent technician and resolved. Otherwise, I believe the smoothness of the action is compromised. Perhaps, however, the sound is good and overall the instrument gives decent results. I believe an overhaul is necessary. I would check, I repeat, not only the escapement levers but also all the center pins of the action. Let me know.
I paid 2500 euros... I have tested it little. I played a chromatic scale across the entire keyboard to check the keys, but as soon as I started playing it, I immediately felt these defects....Also because my technician told me it was a real bargain... how much would all the interventions you mentioned cost??
