Hi, Barbara Maybe there's an intermediate course to pursue, in between waiting years for playing the Steinway to brighten up the treble, and lacquering the heck out of it, which would make you more trouble later on, and less variety of tone. A local church bought a brand new S&S B (yes! nice donor!!), and they had University piano majors come in and practice on it. Still, the voicing was a little off, erratic, not matching well between registers. When I started looking after it, I filed a dab, gave it hard tunings, and they started playing concerts on it, concerts by pianists who (while classical and unamplified) certainly didn't hold back on volume. In a year or two, it became very pleasant indeed, and without hardeners other than whatever was put in when it arrived. Now, of course, I'm working on duplex zings. Perhaps your church could get people to practice Liszt (or Rachmaninoff or Prokofiev) on it, and you might use a little bit of shellac just behind the strike point in the capo areas if it still seems hopelessly fluffy. The shellac breaks down over time instead of just getting harsher and harsher -- so as the playing in achieves its aims, the shellac bows out. I would use ultra-blonde flakes dissolved in 190 proof ethyl alcohol, so that it dries very fast and the color isn't too obnoxious. A fairly dilute cut. Be sure to keep the bottle closed so that water doesn't get into it from the air. Shelf life isn't indefinite, though longer than the hardware store shellac, which I wouldn't use. Well, ... it might work? Practice with the shellac on a piano with old hammers? It's what I'd think of doing, anyway. Susan
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