The harpsichord has been playing since the end of August. I'm now in a kind of debugging phase in which I play the instrument and track down things that need improvement. So far I have
- increased the depth of touch about 1/32" by substituting a thinner cloth for one of the two layers under the jackrail
- shimmed up the keys with more punchings at the balance pin to help increase the depth of touch
- moved both of my gap spacers which, despite my best efforts, had not been located exactly under the strings and were slightly rubbing the nearest jacks
- tweaked the off positions of the registers to make sure the plectra cleanly miss the strings
- glued little cloth squares between the registers so they don't touch themselves or the edges of the gap
- done a little remedial voicing to quills that feel stiffer or sound louder than their neighbours
The main outstanding issue to be resolved is the troublesome repetition of notes in the bass. In this region the amplitude of the plucked strings is large. Damping can be problematic as a result, and the tongue is often flung backwards quite energetically when the jack descends and the plectrum touches the string. So I am experimenting with damper shapes, stiffer springs and various other factors in an effort to resolve this problem.
