[CAUT] The "new" S&S Hammers.

[Jeff Tanner]

On Sep 13, 2007, at 11:31 AM, johnsond wrote:

>
> Anyone care to share your experiences with the new S&S Hammers from  
> this summer?  They come with a note to us Technicians......
> ________
> "Due to a process improvement in the manufacturing......  you may  
> notice a slightly harder hammer.  With this in mind we would  
> suggest that you do not juice these hammers before testing in the  
> piano.  Juicing these hammers before installation and pre-testing  
> may result in a brighter than anticipated tone. "
> ________
>
> OK-   Actually the hammers looked good and shaped up just fine.  I  
> did not put one drop of lacquer or any other hardener on  these  
> hammers except for  4 notes in the high treble.  The piano has been  
> back in service now for a couple months.  They are bright indeed!!   
> Just this morning the faculty pianist actually told me that now he  
> "hates" this piano.  I am trying keep him patient and working with  
> them, but there is only so much needling I can do.
>
> So....   Anyone else have a better experience?  Maybe it's just  
> this set-
>
> thanks,
>
> Dennis Johnson
> St. Olaf College
>


I was told that after they started pre-lacquering the hammers, they  
"honed" the process a bit before they settled on what they were  
after.  I understand they now dip the entire set in a lacquer  
solution for a certain length of time (30 seconds?) and set them  
aside to dry.  I'm sure that applying a one-size-fits-all process to  
a material that, by its nature, will be somewhat different from set  
to set will produce slightly different results.  But that is better  
than sending out virgin hammers to technicians who each want to do it  
their individual way and then blame Steinway for bad hammers.  At  
least they're taking technician error out of the equation to some  
extent.

The set I installed this spring needed additional lacquer to please  
the professor, but I ordered them last year, probably not long after  
Steinway started pre-lacquering.  I rather liked them like they were,  
except maybe the top few notes, but he insists on teaching and  
practicing with the lid down.  I don't get that.  You don't play the  
violin in its case do you?  Why even bother playing a Steinway if you  
can't hear the dang thing?  Anyway, I have another set in the cabinet  
I ordered earlier this year waiting for their new home, so we'll see.

> I can't take the piano out of service to wash them with thinner  
> until maybe Christmas break.

When I've gotten the juice a bit strong, I've had some success with  
soaking them overnight in thinner and replacing them the next morning  
before the piano was needed.  I've also had good results with  
applying a few drops of acetone just to the strike point.

> The worst part is that it starts to make me look bad when the  
> player is beginning to wish he had the old worn hammers back......   
> @#$!    I'm sorry, but we are not paid enough to take that kind of  
> responsibility for materials.

It's more that we aren't paid enough to live up to unrealistic  
expectations from faculty.  They have to remember that the people who  
put hammers on in the factory do just that all day long.  The other  
people who voice those hammers do just that all day long.  The C&A  
technicians work only on pianos of their brand while we in the field  
have to develop knowledge for everything on the market.  It just  
isn't a realistic expectation.

We are general practitioners.  We don't hang, file and voice 1000+  
sets of hammers a year and we don't regulate 1000+ actions a year,  
and we don't install 1000+ soundboards or bridges or sets of dampers  
a year.  We can't be expected to perform at the level factory  
installers and technicians perform at.  We just can't possibly  
develop that level of expertise in every area of our craft.

Sometimes I think we need to learn to accept that reality ourselves,  
too.

Our pay isn't Steinway's fault.  It's ours.  We could have shown a  
bit of dignity on behalf of our profession and turned down these low  
salaries.  But I think we get suckered into these F/T jobs by the  
benefits and then get stuck and can't do much about the salary after  
that.  Then other institutions look at what we're getting paid and  
assume that's all a high end piano technician is worth and set their  
salaries accordingly.



Jeff Tanner, RPT
University of South Carolina



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