[CAUT] Yamaha CFIIIS

[David Ilvedson]

I would stay with the CFIII hammers.   

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044

----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: wbis290 <wbis290 at aol.com>
To: caut at ptg.org
Received: 3/22/2010 7:49:02 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Yamaha CFIIIS


>Hi Paul,

>I am not sure of the angle of the hammers of the CFlll but I will throw in a thought or 
>two. The local Yamaha dealer was part of the concert and artist program with 
>Yamaha and had a CFlll for about five or six years. When it first came in, it lacked 
>any personality. After some serious voicing, I finally got the piano to come to life. I 
>had found that this piano needed a lot of constant voicing to keep this tone that 
>many loved. I had gotten the bid to rebuild a Mason & Hamlin CC for a concert hall in 
>a city about 40 miles from my shop. The concert hall rented the CFlll while I was 
>working on the Mason. One of the artists that used the CFlll stated four times during 
>the performance that this was the best piano he had every played. Several months 
>after the Mason was returned the CFlll was used by Andre Watts in Fort Wayne. A 
>friend of mine went to the concert and said the piano sounded horrible and that the 
>local paper stated how the poor tone of the piano almost ruined the con
> cert. When the CFlll came back, I could see what they meant. It was an entirely 
>different piano. After a lot of work I finally got it back to where it was again. The 
>piano was sold to a couple whose husband is Japanese and they were transferred 
>back to Japan. The wife came back to Findlay and called me to tune her mother's 
>piano. She said that the piano tech in Japan said that her piano was not right and 
>changed the voicing. She said that she hardly plays the CFlll any more because it 
>sounds so bad. From what few techs that I have talked to that have serviced CFllls, 
>this seems to be the weak point of the CFlll. They are great when new but need 
>constant attention to the voicing, I would see if there is any way that you could get 
>the university to get money for some Able Select or Able Special Press hammers. 
>They would help give a sound that you would never think the CFlll would have. I 
>have put these on some very good pianos and have found that they give a much 
>better tone t
> han I was every able to get from these pianos before including Steinways. I put 
>them on two Bechstein ENs at Ohio Northern University and was told by two visiting 
>artist from one of the all Steinway schools who said that they would prefer the 
>Bechsteins over their new Ds. We never had any compliments on those pianos 
>before I put the Able Selects on them.

>Bill Balmer  RPT, 
>Ohio Northern University and the University of Findlay



>In a message dated 03/22/10 11:05:58 US Eastern Standard Time, 
>dempsey at marshall.edu writes:
>All, 

>We have a Yamaha CFIIIS that was purchased in 2004. When it arrived, everyone, 
>and I mean everyone (Students, faculty, and guests), forsook the 42 year old 
>Steinway D that it shares the stage with in favor of the new, "shiny" piano. 

>Slowly but surely they all came back to the Steinway. Reasons varied, but the 
>common thread was that the Yamaha lacked the power of the S&S, and had no 
>"personality" so the CFIII was orphaned  in favor of the D. A tech from Yamaha 
>visited and spent two days with the piano but everyone still goes with the old piano. 

>So, we are in spring break and I have some time to devote to the Yamaha-reshape 
>hammers, reg and lube, mate strings and voice. You know the drill. 

>I am noticing that the hammers are hung with a slight distal angle (about 3 degrees) 

>Is this normal for the CFIII? Also, looking at the string impressions in the strike point 
>(they aren't too bad really), it appears that the hammers are very slightly over 
>centering. 

>Is the 3 degree bore angle correct? I guess I need to confirm the proper bore 
>distance too. There is no $$$ for new hammers. 

>Thoughts? 



>Paul E. Dempsey, RPT 
>Piano Technician Sr. 
>Marshall University 
>Huntington, WV 
>304-696-5418 
>304-617-1149