Yamaha C3 voicing

[Lawrence Becker]

At 07:46 PM 10/17/00 -0600, you wrote:
>Dear list,
>	We have a 2-year-old Yamaha C3 in a faculty studio that is quite 
>bright.  I haven't taken the leap into steam voicing yet, and so, in the 
>spirit of Jeannie Grassi's recent editorial comments on Mastery I'm leaning 
>on the the experience of you all before I jump in.  In order to do a 
>wholesale voicing of this piano do you 1) Get the coffee pot and steam one 
>hammer at a time in the spout 2) Use the damp cloth and hammer iron on the 
>shoulders or other parts of the hammer 3) Do any of you use needles when 
>faced with this style of piano/hammer ( I do like using a single needle 
>tool to even things out, but not necessarily for this wholesale situation) 
>4) Is the unofficial Yamaha technique of using pliers on the shoulders 
>going to produce similar results to steaming or is the outcome different - 
>tonally, stability-wise, etc.  Thanks for your ideas.
>Jeff Stickney, RPT
>University of Montana
>jpage@selway.umt.edu


Jeff & List-

At our very recent Ohio State Seminar, Roger Jolly gave an expanded
presentation on his regulation and voicing methods, which include steaming.
 In attendance at the steam-voicing segment of his presentation was LaRoy
Edwards.  Yamaha has to date spent over $250K replacing hammers on Yamaha
pianos that have been over-steamed and ruined by technicians who then
blamed Yamaha for the problem.  Careful, careful, careful with the steam!
Yamaha does not wish to be in the business of paying for other people's
mistakes.

I should let Roger speak for himself on this one, but until he does I will
chime in with my interpretation/extrapolation of what I heard, plus my own
experience.

1) The steaming pot is probably not appropriate for this piano--a fairly
new high-quality grand in a teacher's studio, which presumably had good
tone at one time.  The pot gets steam into the crown, shoulders, sides, and
all, and is only grossly controllable.  It might be more appropriate for
cheap Asian hammers that come screaming from the factory, or very worn
hammers in a practice room that are killing ears.

2) The damp cloth and hammer-ironing on the shoulders can be quite
appropriate.  The cloth should be linen or 100% cotton, and not too damp.
The iron should be a 40-(not 80-)watt variety.  Even with a control unit
in-line, the 80-watters can get hot enough to scorch hammers.  Check
results before going wholesale.

3) Dave Forman's description of needling is very sound, especially for
regaining a once-nice tone.  The iron-and-cloth steaming in the same areas
can also give good results, but I would not use a teacher's studio piano
for my first patient.

4) I think the pliers are for drastic situations.  Very deep very
low-shoulder needling (start low and come up as needed) can increase both
power and bloom if the tone is choked. 

Check pinning, seat strings and pins on the bridge, correct capo noise, and
level strings before evaluating what voicing is needed. 

All, of course, IMO. 



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Lawrence Becker, RPT
Piano Technician
College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati
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