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Hello,

I am new to piano and just bought a Young Chang U131 last month.

I managed to learn and play the Scarborough Fair and the Entertainer from the Alfred All-in-one Book.

A question I have is that whenever I use the damper pedal, I feel that the key touch is different and is noticeably lighter. I have never played piano or press the damper pedal before, so I do not know whether the change in the touch is normal or I should call for servicing already.

I will appreciate you enlightening me on this matter.

Thanks.

..ady

Just to be 100% clear -

Are you referring to the "practice" pedal, or the sustain pedal (the one on the right)?

The practice pedal always makes the keys feel weird to me. I guess it's the price we pay for what happens inside the cabinet.

[ March 05, 2002: Message edited by: BrulBruce ]

ADy--The explanation for the different touch after using the damper pedal is rather technical but I'll do it for you nonetheless.

When the pedal is depressed, a rod at the rear of the action(called the damper lift rod moves all the dampers away from the strings so they'll sound longer. The effect of doing this is to disengage the damper levers from the damper spoons. The spoons are only doing their job when they push against the damper levers whuich happens whenever the damper pedal is not being used. The work involved in this operation(spoon against lever)results in the heavier feel of the action.

Hope that explains it in some fashion for you.

Mark Mandell www.pianosource.com

Yes, there will be a slight change in touch when the damper (sustain) pedal is pressed. The reason is this: if the sustain pedal is not activated, the damper of each key needs to be lifted by a spoon connected to the wippen of the action mechanism. In order to lift the damper, the spoon needs to counteract the resistance of the damper return spring. However, this is not the case if the damper is pressed.

Depending on how sensitive your touch is, you may or may not have a problem. In any event, you can ask your tech to try to adjust the damper return spring (the damper return spring may be too strong, which is quite common for Asian pianos) to see if things can improve.

Eric

Bruce, it is the sustain pedal on the right that I am asking about, not the practise (or muffler?) pedal in the middle.

Mark & Eric,

Thanks for the explanation. Understand now that slight change in the feel is normal and acceptable.



To ask further and to check that I understand the explanation ..., if I were to ask my tech to adjust the damper return spring, does it mean that I would make the normal key touch when sustain pedal is NOT pressed to be more similar to the touch when the sustain pedal is pressed? Instead of the other way around, that is to make the touch when the sustain pedal is pressed to be similar to the normal touch when the pedal is not pressed?

Appreciate your answer.

ady

Yes, if done right, you will feel LESS resistance when the spoon engages the damper lever. However, care must be exercised not to 'relax' the damper spring force too much or the damper will not function properly (i.e., it will not damp out the sound when the key is released). You may also want to ask your tech to check the damper pin and bushings to make sure there isn't excess friction there.

Eric