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I think sb is right generally it has to be described in relation to a grand. I don't think an acoustic upright behaves by requiring your finger to completely lift off the key to repeat a note, any note, all the time; it just needs to be lifted much higher than is required on a grand. And if you are performing a fast trill, you don't need to lift your fingers high at all, the bounce of the hammer allows the repetition from a lower position.

I've just got the NV5 and I'm facing the same issue. This is quite strange, I know it's not supposed to be like a grand, but having to release 100% is not normal, we can see easily on youtube videos upright pianos that don't require a total release to repeat the note. Here is how it looks like.

My acoustic upright has to be released 100% (or 99.9%) to repeat the note, otherwise the mechanics don't fall in place to do the repetition.

Here is a video that shows that with proper regulation you can repeat without releasing completely



PS. The video is not English but we can get what he means.

A worn out unmaintained upright piano might have a "deadzone" with the key going down almost half the way, before the action does anything, but that's not a mark of of a well regulated piano.

+1. Having a "dead zone" can make it seem like double-repetition, but in reality you're just trading off immediate action engagement for less travel and velocity. Luiz, IMHO your video looks pretty normal, and because of the way the NV5 senses hammer motion, it's accurately representing when the hammer would hit the string.

Hmmm...on my older NU1, with key sensors only, I can repeat a note before the key fully returns to the top. I don't have access to an acoustic upright to compare. I was under the impression that the Millenium 3 upright action on an acoustic upright had improvements to aid repetition.

On your NV5 does the key (jack) block until the key is fully released, or put another way can you tell if the hammer gets thrown at some point before the key returns? I would have thought it could be regulated so that the key does not have to return all the way for the jack to reset, but then how that works with the sensors I have no idea.

I think JoeT and Gombessa are correct, I've just found a video that shows the piano is not supposed to have that deadzone. So it looks like my NV5 is actually well regulated. I think I'll just have to get used to that.

IMHO this is how most uprights would react. At least that's my experience - perhaps on high end, well regulated uprights you wouldn't have this issue, someone more knowledgeable can perhaps confirm.

Since the NV5 has an upright action, this all seem correct (and one of the reasons why I prefer the NV10' grand action).

I'm not clear on what you are referring to here, given your original video and as you yourself stated: on a well regulated upright action you do NOT have to let the key release (return to the top) before being able to repeat the note again.

Sure the key has to return most of the way, more so than on a grand action, but not all the way. If it does have to then regulation can improve it. This regulation concerns behaviour of the jack; how that relates to the optical sensors on the NV5 is another matter, one for the specs and design of the NV5. Something to look out for I think if considering purchase of an NV5 in the absence of clarification by Kawai.