We had a wonderful time with Kent Webb from Steinway back in Nov. He started our day long event with news about the latest improvements to their pianos. It was fascinating to find out that the basic geometry of the grand action has not changed since the 1880’s with the exception of a 1mm adjustment of the knuckle and the jack back in the 1980’s. This resulted in an improvement in touch. What an amazing action Steinway has made for so long! Though the basic geometry has not changed the tolerances have gotten tighter. For instance the hammer action rail is soldered into the action frame mounting bracket. In past years the tolerance was as wide as 2-3mm but is now less than 1mm. That means the hammer rail will be in the same place on every piano.
It was fun to reconnect with other technicians I hadn’t seen for almost a year, swap stories and share new tips.