All the different responses you are getting illustrates the problem with asking for suggestions on a subject like this. Everyone has an opinion based on their own taste, pianos they have worked with and experience. But outcomes can vary considerably depending on the belly and the goal. On this piano with a Del Fandrich board my experience suggests that you should be careful about going to a hammer which is too hard, it may not be a good match. You have to sample and see which hammer works the best in terms of your goal. In order of soft to hard the list goes roughly like this: Ronsen Bacon NY S&S Ronsen Wurzen Ronsen Weickert Pianotek Abel Select Renner Blue Points Wally's Abel Naturals Renner Premium Blue Hamburg Renner Both Ronsen Bacon and NY S&S will need to be hardened as will Ronsen Wurzen and Weickert probably on this piano--at least at the upper end. If the Ronsen Bacon that's on there has not been hardened I would do that first before I started switching hammers. You'll have to determine the strength of the solution to use. I have my own formula but your lacquer may vary from mine. Let it harden for at least a week or two before you render final judgment. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com Hi Folks, I am considering options for hammers on a S&S D. I want a softer hammer with some heft. Right now the piano has Ronsen Bacons and a Del Fandrich board. Right now there’s just not enough “boom” at the point of attack but otherwise nice color and projection and decent sustain. I’m looking at these hammers: NY S&S Pianotek Abel Select Wally’s Abel Naturals Ronsen Wurzen Ronsen Weickert I have experience with S&S, Wurzen and Abel Select, but not the others. Which would you choose, and why? Thanks again for your thoughts. Yeah, Jim I know you like the new Renner Weikert Blue Points, but I never have liked working with Renner Blues so I didn’t include the Blue Points on my list to consider. You can try to convince me though! ;-) -- Alan McCoy, RPT Eastern Washington University amccoy at ewu.edu
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