Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Heavy action Can this be corrected?

My father in law has a Kimball grand that has a really heavy action. I don't know how much weight is required for key depression but next time we visit I will bring some weights (I am a laboratory scientist) and find out. I know that Kimball isn't considered a great piano. It has a very mellow tone that is not disagreeable. I think it is about 20-25 yrs old and maybe 6ft or a little less. He has big strong hands but recently did comment that he thought the action was heavy and was told nothing could be done. Is this condition a matter of counter weight, friction, or just inferior action? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Better to have a tech tell you nothing can be done than to have one say "oh yeah, I can fix that" and then proceed to ruin your hammers and action.

I definitely know of one way to fix it, but it will cost you $$$. There might be an easier, and cheaper, solution that the techs on this forum can address.

Action geometry is pretty complicated stuff. You really need to get someone who knows what they are doing before you let them do any work on it at all.

Derick

A tech can lubricate the key pins, balance rail pins with protek, and put teflon on the contact points. From doing that you can reasess if it still heavy.

Yes,it can get complicated, but here is an abbreviated schedule for you to follow:
1)I agree with Brian- try lubing it first. It's the cheapest solution and often is all that's needed. If that fails to help.....
2)Have your tech check regulation. It's gotta be regulated properly to play properly.
3)Excessive friction that was not helped by the lube: capstans burred or dirty; rep springs dirty; tight bushings in dampers, keys, or action centers; dirty key pins.

Go ahead and measure your downweight before you have any work done; it will be interesting to see what each step does to relieve the pressure. Players and techs will differ as to what they like, but for many, a downweight of 52 grams or so is desirable. Good luck and please let us know what happens........Sam