Bechstein-restauration

[Les Smith]

Ah, now you're bringing another factor, voice, into the matter of
hammer selection. It's certainly worthy of consideration, and in the
process, complicates things somewhat. The weight of the hammer--
measured in grams--is of comnsiderable importance to the touch of
the piano. If we're restoring an instrument where we want to pre-
serve the original touch, measuring and matching up the weights of
both the original hammers and the replacements becomes of primary
importance. And it's not just a matter of weighing and matching up
the first and last hammer of each section, it a matter of weighing
and matching each hammmr. All eight-eight. Now you want to add to
that matter of the "voice" of the hammer. Different moldings--
walnut, mahogany, birch, etc--have different weights, and as the
density of different felts vary, so too will their individual weights.
So the wieght of a particular hammer depends upon BOTH the type of
wood used for the molding and the density of its felt. From a touch
standpoint, it really doesn't matter whether the hammer's weight is
the result of a heavier molding and a less dense felt, or a lighter
molding and a denser felt, but the such a selection can have a big
impact on the voice of a particular hammer. In other words, it might
be the correct weight, but the voice is all wrong. Kind of like your
making that Bechstein sound like a Yamaha!  Therefore, not only the
weight of the hammer is important, but how that weight is achieved
in terms of molding-weight/felt density must be considered, too.

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net

On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Barrie Heaton wrote:

> Yes, your on the right tracks.  Les and Horace had described density to
> you very well.  May I add though,  the customers requrements should be
> taken in to account.  I misinterpretered a customers request on his
> Bechstine he said it had lost its "umph" my neighbour has a lot of
> "umph"  His neighbour had a brand new Yamaha which I tune.  Which is
> very bright and lovely bass.  So I assumed he wanted a bright piano.
> Boy was I mistaken it took me six months and a loot of visits to tone
> those hard hammers down.  What he meant by umph he wanted a nicer bass
> but he still wanted his Bechstein sound which is a soft mellow treble
> compared with a Yamaha.
>
> Some of the Bechstein Grands start at gage 13 at the top so a dense
> hammer is not necessary to produce a quality sound.  That's why
> personally on grands around the 1920 and down.  I tend to go for re-
> covering rather than replacing,  it is a bit like buying a set of pre-
> hung hammers the re-coverer matches the original felt so all you'll have
> to do is replace the rollers and re-centrer the hammers plus they are a
> little bit cheaper.
>
> Hope this is of some help.
>
> Regards,
>
> Barrie.
>
>
>
> In article <09151041200001@DEBCOM.BE>, Peter Kestens
> <KESTENS.P@Debcom.be> writes
> >PETER KESTENS
> >Het Muziekinstrumentenatelier
> >BELGIUM
> >KESTENS.P@Debcom.be
> > To Barrie Heaton,
> >
> >Could the density of the felt being of any importancy?  The higher it is,
> >the more it weights?
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Barrie Heaton                                  |  Be Environmentally Friendly
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