I am Francesco and I am not Musik. I own a Pleyel that is actually a Schimmel (it only has the name of Pleyel and vaguely its timbre). Even today, Schimmel grand pianos are factory-fitted with a return spring to the lever that allows the key to drop less and reduces inertia. However, in my opinion, it has two critical issues: the first is that the sensation of the "balance rail" (you can feel the key being pressed) is lost, and the return (which I must also say is very lively) is due to elastic force rather than weight; the second critical issue is that every spring is strongly influenced by friction forces and, when excessive, this sensation is amplified. Furthermore, the key can absurdly weigh as much as 20g upon depression but, if the hammer is heavy, it is certainly felt. I have seen several discussions where it seems to me I have seen the rests elsewhere.
I am almost certain that my Schimmel piano was originally without springs (the grooves to hold the cord were not there, I made them myself), and I am almost certain that the larger but lighter hammer belonged to the original set that should have been there.
A second confirmation of my suspicion came from the fact that the "large" hammer on the first bass is so light that if you add the spring, the key stays depressed... even though you remove the lead in the key. It really seems like the perfect type of hammer for this piano.
Furthermore, it seems that during the period when my piano was built, they used hammers without rivets, and moreover thinner ones (10 millimeters instead of 11), another characteristic that makes that hammer lighter, in addition to less compression.
In short, I would be inclined to install a new set one day, when I have the opportunity. I imagine more or less a good result.
I am Francesco and I am not Musik. I own a Pleyel that is actually a Schimmel (it only has the name of Pleyel and vaguely its timbre). Even today, Schimmel grand pianos come from the factory with a return spring to the lever that allows the key to drop less and reduces inertia. However, in my opinion, it has two critical issues: the first is that the sensation of the "balance" (you can feel the key being pressed) is lost, and the return (which I must say is very lively) is due to elastic force rather than weight; the second critical issue is that every spring is strongly influenced by friction forces, and when they are excessive, this sensation is amplified. Among other things, the key can absurdly weigh as much as 20g on the descent but, if the hammer is heavy, you certainly feel it. I have seen several discussions where it seems to me I've seen the rests elsewhere.
It is not certain that Schimmel installs the return spring, or at least not all of them.
From what I see, it depends on the period and the model, I hope I am not mistaken.
I don't know modern Schimmels; perhaps some of them have integrated the return spring later.
A curiosity Francesco, but what year is your Pleyel-Schimmel from?
Spring or no spring, one must look at the weights and frictions. As Francesco says, the spring only amplifies the criticality. For Musik: it is necessary to check the hammer rail. If you want, we will do it together later. And make it the same, like the first hammer, which I understand to be mahogany and therefore lighter. All to be verified
A curiosity Francesco, but what year is your Pleyel-Schimmel from?
It's a 180 cm from 1981. I like it very much as an instrument. It has this issue: heavy hammer action and the return spring at the hitch pin. But will I fix it?
