...Correct Responsive Touch and Feel... 

A piano’s working mechanism (the action) represents the engine of the instrument. Those who play the piano expect the working mechanism to be responsive. Here we will take a closer look at both the vertical and grand working mechanisms.

 Vertical Piano Actions

Each Rawlins & Co. vertical piano uses a working mechanism produced by a fourth generation action maker. Every part of the construction of a piano requires much hand-work by skilled craftsmen.

Producing and assembling the thousands of parts that make up just one piano action proves no exception.

Maple used in the action comes from forests in Germany.

Material will be kiln dried before it goes into work.

Hundreds of steps later, the action will be completed. This working mechanism, used exclusively in Rawlins & Co. vertical pianos, will also be found in the inventories of select German action makers.

Vertical keys utilize cross laminations of spruce to assure stability. A maple button has been affixed to the top of the key at the balance rail and at the back of the key where the capstan will be affixed.

Each of the three pedals employ solid brass construction The most used sustain pedal rest on the right. A soft (pianissimo) pedal sits on the left. When a player tackles repetitive scale exercises the middle pedal may be used. A piece of felt comes down between the hammers and strings which dampen the sound without appreciably affecting the touch and feel of the keys.

Grand Piano Actions 

Piano students and performers may spend many hours each week at the keyboard of their grand piano. Several critical regulations help the builder create an instrument that will be a joy to play.

Actions used in Rawlins & Co. pianos come from a modern grand piano action facility in Hamamatsu, Japan. Clear, white spruce keys will be a joy for performer and student. Some Japanese action makers use plastic (ABS) parts. Quarter sawn maple components have withstood the test of time in all of the world’s premier pianos. Rawlins & Co. grand actions use no plastic (ABS).

In the grand action the hammer will be lifted to the string. Gravity brings it back to be played again. The larger bass hammers weigh more than the treble hammers. Lead weights placed in the keys assure that touch will be uniform from key number one to key eighty eight.

When played, the hammer will be thrown to the string. The hammer should let-off (when the knuckle leaves the jack) about one-eighth inch from the string. Too little let-off results in a blocking key. Too much let-off makes the piano play hard and sluggish.

The repetition feature helps the player breeze through the most challenging passages. Before Rawlins & Co. pianos are shipped factory craftsmen attend to each minute regulation.

After decades of use regulation adjustments must be made. If the original working mechanism has been constructed from quality components and assembled by skilled craftsmen it will be a joy for any technician to regulate.

Each Rawlins & Co. grand piano has three pedals. Like the vertical, the most used sustain pedal sits on the right of the three. The left, called the una-chorda pedal, shifts the entire action to the right. Instead of playing two strings the hammer strikes only one; instead of three strings the hammer strikes only two. Dynamics can be described as the most important part of making music. With a fine grand the performer can achieve the complete dynamic range. The remaining middle pedal will be known as the sostenuto. When you have this feature you can play a chord and sustain those notes with the left foot on the middle pedal. Now you can continue to articulate additional notes, using the right hand sustain pedal.