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

[Douglas Wood]

I, too, am very fond of the S&S NY hammer. It is important to  
recognize that they don't really voice up the way other hammers do.  
Lacquer is an essential part of the tone-building process, and  
shoulder needling either does nothing or just cuts power. The needles  
go in the string grooves (or right next to them if there's a hard  
spot). Deep needles (6, 7 or even 8 mm) for "blastissimo" voicing,  
shallower (2-4 mm) for mP voicing--do that after the power work.

The hammers still want skinning--takes some of the ping out. Fully- 
developed tone exaggerates any other tone-building issues--traveling,  
spacing, fitting, etc.

The resultant sound is very colorful. Changes color a lot with  
different approaches to the keyboard. Often it is not "beautiful" in  
itself, but can be made "beautiful" with good playing. Or terrifying,  
or haunting, or...

To assert that Steinway somehow can't get the sound they want from  
their pianos seems either arrogant or ignorant. They do, after all,  
cater to most of the world's greatest pianists.

I'm happy to share other perspectives from 20 years of working with  
these hammers, either on or off-list, if you care.

Doug Wood


On Sep 13, 2007, at 1:19 PM, Wolfley, Eric ((wolfleel)) wrote:

> Dennis,
>
> I've had nothing but good experience with these hammers and I've found
> that the quality control (i.e. shape and uniformity) is much better  
> now
> than it was even a couple of years ago. After experimenting with many
> other hammers over the years, I won't put any other hammers on a NY
> Steinway. In the past I would find myself soaking Steinway hammers 2-3
> times in a 3:1 lacquer thinner to lacquer solution (2:1 for large
> grands) before I felt there was a good foundation to the tone. With  
> the
> pre-lacquered hammers I'll still find myself soaking the set at least
> once. Obviously this will make the surface quite bright. It is easy  
> and
> quick to get this harshness to go away with shallow needling at the
> strikepoint which leaves the firmness underneath producing a big, fat
> tone. This is the method that the Steinway concert techs use and it is
> quite effective. I use this method whether the piano is going into a
> practice room, living room or onstage though the smaller, lighter
> hammers tend to need less lacquer. There must be a differentiation  
> made
> between the term "power" and "brightness". Some people (notably
> pianists) seem to use those words interchangeably. The current NY
> hammers sound fairly "bright" right out of the box but it is mainly
> surface brightness. This brightness can be manipulated by surface
> needling but if the hammer doesn't have a good foundation the tone may
> then sound dead. If the hammer seems to "die" when you shallow-needle
> the strikepoint, it probably needs more lacquer underneath.
>
> The hammers are lacquered at the factory by being dipped together as a
> set in what I was told is 3:1 lacquer for 30 seconds. This ensures a
> certain amount of uniformity. It is hard to imagine that you have  
> gotten
> a set that is overlacquered unless somebody lost track and dipped your
> set twice. Of course, stranger things have happened. BTW, I always
> listen to the hammers in the piano before doing any lacquering.
>
> Also BTW, Steinway will be offering a voicing class as part of the  
> CAUT
> program next June at the PTG convention in Anaheim. All, as always,  
> are
> welcome, of course.
>
> Eric
>
> Eric Wolfley, RPT
> Head Piano Technician
> Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
> University of Cincinnati
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
> johnsond
> Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2007 11:31 AM
> To: College and University Technicians
> Subject: [CAUT] The "new" S&S Hammers.
>
>
> 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.  I can't take the piano out of service
> to wash them with thinner until maybe Christmas break.  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.
>
>
> So....   Anyone else have a better experience?  Maybe it's just this
> set-
>
> thanks,
>
> Dennis Johnson
> St. Olaf College
>