Ric, Mostly what I'm curious about is why all of a sudden I can't get a needle in, three years on - and actually, it didn't happen until the humidity recently dropped 20% or so (maybe more) in the hall, with a spell of drier fall weather here, and a little bit of heat on. I didn't have any trouble getting the needle in during the high humidity this summer. I'm mainly interested to hear if others have experienced such a sudden change in the pentrateability (?!) of the hammers. Overnight, as it were...as if some critical mass was reached. I've worked on lots and lots of Steinway grands before, and never experienced anything quite like it. I don't think it's because the hammers have gotten that compacted; as I say, it's not played all that much. Which leads me to wonder if it's not a function either of the humidity swings or the factory lacquer job somehow seasoning and changing character (or both). Allen Wright ---------- >From: Richard Brekne <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> >To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org> >Subject: Re: Steinway hammers/time >Date: Fri, Oct 3, 2003, 3:49 PM > > I think you are mostly asking about whats going on with the hammers, and not so > much about how climate affects the rest of the piano... yes ?? Humidity swings > off course will affect felt as well as anything else... felt with, or felt > without lacquer. In winter I often find hammers wonting in resiliency... there > seems to be a reduced level of dynamics that it is difficult to get the hammer > to reveal. In the summer tho... hammers can sometimes dramatically spring to > life. > > I've pondered a bit on how much the core of the hammer has to do with this. Its > wood, and wood swells with humidity rises... which in the case of the hammer > would put pressure on the felt from the inside as it were. Course the felt > itself reacts too... so perhaps its a combination of the two. > > In anycase.. it shouldnt suprise that its tougher getting a needle in during > periods of high humidity. Sometimes it might be more noticble then other > times.. This summer has been a particularilly warm and humid one for many parts > of the northern hemisphere. Maybe thats part of why you notice it so easily > this year as well... > > Cheers > RicB > > Allen Wright wrote: > >> Group, >> >> I've noticed something on our new (3 years old) Steinway D in the concert >> hall at Northern Kentucky University which has surprised me a, and I wonder >> whether others have experienced this. The piano has had rather hard hammers >> from day one, and I have to really stay on top of the voicing (in the >> winter, especially) in order to keep it reigned in to a reasonable level, >> and voiced evenly. I should say also that the humidity control is poor, >> although much better in the winter last year than it was before - whereas >> the first two winters the hall was dropping into the mid-20s% R.H., they >> figured out how to keep it up around 40 or so last winter. In the summer, >> however, it goes way up, as high as 80%. >> >> The piano sounds better in the summer, actually - warmer, less tendency to >> be edgy, and more even. Easier to voice too, although not surprisingly I've >> had to repin some tight flanges when the humidity gets that ridiculously >> high, and some dampers have hung up, etc. But otherwise, I think the >> humidity has a salutary effect on the sound. By the way, this piano is not >> really played all that much, time-wise. A few hours a week at most (the >> piano faculty keep it under pretty tight wraps). >> >> Here's what surprises me: whereas, as hard as the hammers are in general, >> I've never had trouble getting my voicing needle in cleanly to voice (which >> has made it very manageable up till now), all of a sudden I notice that the >> hammers have that unpleasant spongy feeling on the outer surface, but are >> otherwise absolutely impenetrable with the needle. I've never experienced >> this happening so suddenly on hammers that I've previously been able to >> easily get needles into. I'm aware that it takes lacquer awhile to >> completely harden, but I'm curious what people's opinions are regarding how >> long this can take (as long as three years?) and whether people think the >> sudden change of personality on the part of these hammers might be related >> as well to the wide humidity swings the piano suffers? >> >> Curiously, >> >> Allen Wright, R.P.T >> Cincinnati, Ohio >> _______________________________________________ >> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > -- > Richard Brekne > RPT, N.P.T.F. > UiB, Bergen, Norway > mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no > http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html > http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html > > > _______________________________________________ > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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