[CAUT] My take on them, (was The "new" S&S Hammers).

[David Love]

I agree that different manufacturers have their own sound.  Moreover, I
think it's important to realize that the sound is a function of more than
just the hammer.  It comes about as a combination of the string scaling,
soundboard design and response, the hammer (to name the three basic
elements).  Simply changing a hammer on a Steinway or a Yamaha will not
necessarily dramatically alter the character of the piano, especially after
reasonable voicing practices are employed.  It may bring you more quickly to
a level of voicing that you might otherwise have a difficult time achieving,
but the essential character of the piano will remain.  Otherwise, we could
get ourselves a Steinway just by putting Steinway hammers on a Yamaha.  Of
course, that doesn't quite work.  There have been several illustrations at
various conventions where a lecturer has set up a piano with 10 different
hammers in a row and voiced them such that it was very difficult to tell the
difference between any of them.  Which is not to say that the hammer is not
important, it is.  But there is more to changing the character of a piano
than just selecting a different hammer.  In that respect I agree with Ric
that we should have no qualms about changing hammers if we think it more
easily gets us to our tonal target (and keeps us there).  

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Richard Brekne
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 1:06 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: [CAUT] My take on them, (was The "new" S&S Hammers).

...There should be no doubt in anyones mind that different manufacturers 
have their own sound.  That accepted... it should be no suprise that 
pianists themselves display distinct preferences for different piano 
types exactly because of these differences and their own expectations. 
Taken one step further... sensitive pianists will have a clear idea of 
what a <<good>> Steinway or a <<good>> Yamaha or any other make is when 
they select an instrument.

All this said...  I do not believe we should be afraid of changing 
hammer types, altering touch weights or enacting any other basic 
changes.  Sometimes this is exactly what an instrument needs to fully 
live up to exactly those same expectations the pianist has for the 
instrument.