200A - sticky keys while damper pedal is pressed down

[tomp]

Hi,

I'm having a problem with my 200A - when the damper pedal is pressed down, often, keys are sticky - they won't come up so I can "trigger" them again until I release the damper pedal. This makes playing with damper pedal pretty much useless :-/

The 200A has been serviced a few years ago and the keys were all levelled and the keyboard action itself is absolutely fantastic, so it's not that the keyboard itself would be in bad shape...

does anybody have an idea what I could try to fix this problem?


thanks & greetings,

Tom

[cinnanon]

Regulation, specifically treating the action centers and easing the keys. Check lost motion too. The dampers have springs that apply pressure to the reeds. If the action is a little sluggish, the keys may still return without using the sustain pedal and may not return when using the pedal, like your situation. Regulation is necessary.

[pianotuner steveo]

Yes, I agree, but most likely not a full regulation. It is most likely tight key bushings on the balance rail. A quick test would be to add protek to the balance rail pins and see if that improves it. It can be lost motion, etc, but unless it's been messed with by a novice, it's usually tight key bushings that cause this.

Excessive lost motion at the damper grommets can be a factor too in some cases, but since the dampers are being held up by the pedal I really suspect the bushings. The keys in a Wurlitzer are very light weight. If the capstans were left on the backs of the keys such as in previous models, it would be less of a problem. Key weights would definitely solve the problem too.

[tomp]

Thanks for your comments!

One thing though before I start trying your suggestions:

In the meantime I found out that the problem does NOT occur when I manually trigger the bars shown in the photo (please forgive me for not knowing what those are called...).
It's only happening when playing the keys.

Does that help isolation the problem even more?


thanks & greetings,

Tom

[pianotuner steveo]

Those bars are the damper arms. No, the solution is likely the same. Easing the key bushings and lubing the balance rail pins with protek should help. The keys in a Wurlitzer are extremely light weight and the later models did not have key weights in them like the early models. They also removed the key capstans from the keys and added them to the whippens, making the key sticks even lighter in the back. As a quick test, you can place something on the back of the keys that are sticking to add weight and you should see the problem go away when you do this.

[tomp]

Thank you very much! I will try that!


Tom