weight of piano keys

[mpd210]

does anyone know if its possible to change the wieght of piano keys. i have a boston baby grand and would like lighter keys.

[gfiore]

 There are several ways this could be done. How much money are you willing to part with?

[mpd210]

well just out of curiosity i'd like to know how its done and how much it'd cost.  maybe in the future i'll have it done

[invictus]

And also increasing the weight

BTW.

Grands Pianos always have an heavy action, no point lightening it.
Just leave the piano as it is, it gives your fingers a work out, sooner or later, you get used to it, and trust me, try playing Flight oF the Bumblebee ff on a steinway, learn it on a steinway, after you learnt the piece, you can get really nasty with a light piano yamaha u3

[gfiore]

 Well first, a through action regulation would need to be done, by first addressing all areas that might be causing friction. Once the friction is addressed, the action is then regulated.  Then touch weight measurements are taken. 9 times out of 10,  a good regulation will make ll the difference in the world to the pianist.
 If the action still plays like a truck, causes can vary, but most of the time it is because of an inordinate amount of keyleads used to compensate for too heavy hammers. Now there are three things you can do. 1. Taper the hammer tails more to reduce hammer weight. 2. Install lighter hammers, and reweight the keys by taking out keyleads, and reweighing the action again to a more managable touch weight.  3. Have a Stanwood precision touch weight analysis done on your piano, and have the system installed on your piano.
 So you're looking at a range of $400- $4,000 depending on the way you choose to go.
 Get the piano regulated, the Boston touch weights are'nt that heavy to warrant any extreme work being done.

[iumonito]

There are several ways this could be done. How much money are you willing to part with?

Mpd, where is a thought: if the trade in value of your Boston plus the cost of the modification is higher than the cost of an August Foerster (Loebau) 190, get rid of the crappy piano and embrace the good one.

...and just so that you have the other side of the spectrum, I think there is little to no advantage to having your practice piano be heavy in the action.  In fact I think it is beneficial to work in a well-regulated light instrument, as it requires a very fluid technique to achieve nuances yet allows for passage work not to be a weightlifting session, which is psychologically encouraging and musically nurturing.

[iumonito]

Well first, a through action regulation would need to be done, by first addressing all areas that might be causing friction. Once the friction is addressed, the action is then regulated.  Then touch weight measurements are taken. 9 times out of 10,  a good regulation will make ll the difference in the world to the pianist.
 If the action still plays like a truck, causes can vary, but most of the time it is because of an inordinate amount of keyleads used to compensate for too heavy hammers. Now there are three things you can do. 1. Taper the hammer tails more to reduce hammer weight. 2. Install lighter hammers, and reweight the keys by taking out keyleads, and reweighing the action again to a more managable touch weight.  3. Have a Stanwood precision touch weight analysis done on your piano, and have the system installed on your piano.
 So you're looking at a range of $400- $4,000 depending on the way you choose to go.
 Get the piano regulated, the Boston touch weights are'nt that heavy to warrant any extreme work being done.

Curry, any thoughts on spring assisted action?  Probably something you cannot retrofit without replacing the action?

[gfiore]

 They're fine if the execution is done right.

[gruffalo]

i just had my keys weightened and evened out for $400 and its made things great. made so much progress since.