words technical

[Erwinspiano@aol.com]

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.  Hi Ed

     The pre juicing of factory hammers is old news to be sure and its OK up 
the thin line one doesn't wish to crossover but it would be nice if more 
quality control were possible. I don't think it is. I'm working with a S&S D  
 and an L both with new boards etc. The D hammers were very heavy. 12.9 grams 
to start at note 1, note 40 about 9.5 to start. I have new set of keys in 
each with dialed in key leverages otherwise I'd be installing  shanks with 17 
mm knuckles. The D hammers had some nice round sound note 1 thru 52 then they 
got more wooly then the last octave was really dull. Top octave and half got 
a total 3 to 1 saturation of lacquer. they sound fine.  Everything got a 
soaking. The low bass monos got 3 to 1, bichords 6 to 1 , Tenor about 6 to 1. 
Ist capo 3 to one. I've got enough punch and noise to needle back some The 
top three hammers I just dunked in a 1 to 1 solution. Now they sound fine as 
well.
      It's obvious that the hammers are fairly well juiced out of the box 
which can be determined by sticking a needle here and there.  I think the 
answer to your question about voicing stability is usage. How much, how hard. 
Acoustics ,desires. Ed  I  know you've been round this track before.
  I think the answer for me would be to bore three hammers when they come in. 
Note 16, 40 and 64. This is probably all we need to know. Listen to them. Hey 
if there over juiced Plug the holes send them go back. Why should we pay for 
defective products. Yes I consider that defective especially at 400 bucks a 
pop.
  The L hammers  were no problem. Reasonable amounts of lacquer. When there 
right they're really good and when there bad well....
       Best---Dale Erwin

>   The STeinway hammers are now arriving from the factory pre-doped.  I have 
> had two sets in the last month and they were not at all the same!  The 
> first, 
> for a model A, were large enough to put on a D, and they were already 
> crystal-bright, <sigh>  The customer was having me replace the hammers 
> because they were too brassy, so I ended up needling the heck out of a new 
> set of hammers.  They felt like sugar cubes.  Since I do my own boring, 
> there 
> was no way to really tell what they sounded like before crossing the 
> drill-press Rubicon.
>   The next set was soft, but I think they will play-in very nicely, (though 
> 
> I do need to help the low bass out a little, sniff-sniff).   
>   So, my question is this.  In a heavy use setting, like on the school 
> stages,  how long does a new set of these things last before becoming 
> difficult to keep a round sound?  Has anybody "rinsed" a new set with 
> acetone 
> or something to take some of the sting out before the accupuncture?  
>   My normal doping of new Steinway hammers used to begin with a side 
> application of 6:1 that was heavy enough to just reach the core right about 
> 
> at the tip of the molding.  Then I could listen and add more a little 
> farther 
> up the shoulder to get what I wanted. This left me with a small wedge of 
> unlacquered felt under the strike point that would, with about 20 hours of 
> playing, really give me a broad range of tone, from a defined mellowness at 
> 
> pp to an orchestral crash at full FFF. Not only that, but I could keep it 
> that way through several filings and reshaping!  I fear that with the new 
> procedure up there in New York, which I understand to be soaking the entire 
> 
> hammer set with 4:1 before shipping,  this malleability and control will be 
> 
> lost. 
>   Anybody have a set that is aging and can tell me where these new ones go? 
>  
> 
> Thanks, 
> Ed Foote RPT 
> 


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