I loved that piano! It’s now owned by a man in AZ.

@@insidepianos I've had the Kawai Millenium lll action for a while on a Kawai hybrid. It's slightly different to the WNG action in the sense that it doesn't use fibre composite for a key component (the hammer shank). Nonetheless, even with a wooden shank there's definitely a noticeable smoothness/speed as to how the mostly ABS carbon action performs when compared to other new all wood actions. Having said that I think this is to be expected and I don't think anyone reasonable would argue against these obvious benefits in consistency. The real question has always been: how does having a substantial piece of composite plastic inserted into the belly of the piano affect the overall sound? Not at all? Not significantly? Significantly? What's your opinion/experience regarding the effect on the resonance and overall sound of the piano?

@@zvelekva I wouldn't expect the "plastic-ness" of the action parts to have a noticeable effect on the, as you call it, overall sound. The action is so loosely coupled to the belly of the piano, sitting as they do above a keyframe that's only attached to the rest of the piano by gravity. The parts themselves are screwed to a rail that has internal dampening characteristics as well. Further, they're held in tension by the surrounding parts such that they would have a hard time vibrating, and even if they could their smallness would confine the vibrations to a very narrow and high frequency. Good question though: it's fun to think through it. The effect of the shank (wooden vs composite) on the tone of a struck string seems to be more open to debate.

@@insidepianos I was thinking along the lines of reflections. E.g. the way the sound can drastically change if you alter the furnishings in a room. Sound coming into the action cavity which is adjacent to the soundboard, then bouncing around in there hitting against plastic vs bouncing around in there and hitting against wood and then exiting the instrument...Instinct tells me wood would absorb more sound vs plastic...How much of a difference would it make, what would the actual effect be, would it be noticeable to even a very discerning ear... The reason I'm contemplating this is because there's some manufacturers out there absolutely adamant they will not adopt this technology despite the obvious benefits. However, trying to pin them down to a concrete reason why is proving rather elusive and it's really frustrating especially when you're trying to have these parts replaced as I just have (shanks/rollers, not wippens...went with Abel). It probably wouldn't have cost me much more to have the carbon parts, but I simply didn't want to take a risk on a possible down side. Thus for future reference I'm comparing notes with others to try and work out what the scenarios are/whether I've made a mistake.

My pleasure, Bryan!

Hey Russ! Knowing me I probably used my pair of AEA N8s in a blumlein pattern within the piano combined with 3 Miktek C7s in a mid/side arrangement out in the room. My preamp/converter is the Focusrite ISA828. It was just a simple matter of spending til it hurt. 😞 Thanks for the kind words about the recording though.

Soon and very soon!

They are not bad. They do make a specialized tool for doing so, but it essentially is just a WNG specific upright hammer extractor. If you already have a vertical hammer extractor it very likely can be modified to work. Because the carbon fiber shank is hollow, you cannot use a normal hammer extractor with the point without breaking the shank. But all you need to do is apply some heat with a heat gun and they pop right off.

I agree with you, Don. Whenever I see those lower, seemingly broader, sharps on older Steinways and Mason and Hamlins I always feel comforted. The modern height can feel cumbersome. I did replace the sharps on my Chickering with an ebony Pianotek product (that I like), but I don’t recall them being shorter in height. Cool to know they exist in any case. Sometimes when I regulate sharps to my liking they end up being embedded slightly compared to the white keys. Within reason I feel we always have that freedom.

I did not. I don’t consider myself an expert on the Stanwood techniques but in as far as I understand them I don’t see any challenges to that approach presented by these WNG parts. Since Stanwood’s thinking was spurred in part by the weight inconsistency in wooden parts I would guess that one has a leg up by using composite parts, which are relatively more uniform. Eliminating that variable one’s focus could be placed on hammer and key lead weight. Even without doing these approaches, the Baldwin’s action turned out to be very even.

@@insidepianos it makes sense that the composite is more uniform in weight. And there for easier to regulate. I have an ptdae on my grand (wooden parts) and it is really superb and responsive. But very time consuming to install. My piano is done by a tech that also finetune all of the Fazioli grands in Itally! I love your video's! The pianist with the red shirt plays very well! And your Baldwin sounds very good full for his size.

Sounds like you have an excellent technician who allows you to enjoy your piano at its best!

@@insidepianos yeah, a great tech is gold and can make your connection and feeling with the music so much more intense. Keep up the great work, you make a lot of people very happy!

Good observation. I often do replace the back rail cloth but it has been long enough that I can't remember for sure. If that's not to blame the bobbling could be due to lightness of parts as you proposed but might also have to do with WNG parts having lower friction in general compared to wooden parts--less inertial resistance. None of the players mentioned that as a detraction but I certainly see your point. If I use these parts again I'll take special notice of this. Thanks for watching!

Hi Carlo! When we discovered the first set of whippens weren’t a fit it was easier to send those back and receive one that only needed heels glued. That’s a lot easier than repinning flanges. I haven’t yet moved any knuckles around but I think it’s great to have that flexibility. It’s reversible too which is nice! Thanks for watching!

@@insidepianos Hi Ben thankyou for your answer..you are right. It must be easier . It is a pleasure to watch your videos. My best wishes for now.