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Hello, I wanted to know if anyone knows the measurements that Steinway uses, such as the hammer height at rest and in "semi-rest" (hammer above the repetition lever), the stroke the key must make before the escapement "slips," etc. etc. Can I find them somewhere? Or if you know them, even better, thank you.
Moderator
47mm hammer-string distance. The hammer "escapes" at about 1 mm in the treble and two in the bass, with a drop of 1 mm. The repetition lever occurs at about 15mm from the strings. The key dip goes from 9.5-9.8 mm up to 10mm in the grand piano.
Member
Great! Thank you so much!!!
Forgive me, but I didn't understand one thing: "The hammer 'escapes' by about 1 mm in the treble and 2 mm in the bass, with a drop of 1 mm"—but this refers to the hammer-to-string distance, right? If so, how much travel must the key make before the hammer "escapes," meaning will the hammer hit the string halfway through the key travel, at the end, or at the beginning?
And one more thing: when I press a key very softly, is it correct for the hammer to "escape" but without hitting the string and without being stopped by the capstan?
Moderator
It depends, I would say, on the velocity we impart to the key. Acting slowly, the hammer begins to escape at about 3/5 of the key travel, but if we play 'sur l'escapement', as the French say, i.e., by giving little taps to the keys with the weight of the rapid fall of the fingers, we discover that the hammer sounds much sooner... even without feeling the sensation of the escapement. One obtains what is called "jeu perlé". If the spring is well-regulated, lowering the key slowly until the moment of escapement and imparting a little tap in a second phase to reach the bottom of the key, one should hear a faint sound.
