s&s hammers

[JIMRPT@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 1/15/2000 11:50:00 PM, Arlan wrote:

<<"As I am not a contributing member of the list I feel somewhat hesitant to
offer my opinion.">>
Arlan; 
 First of all never feel "hesitant" about offering your opinion it is welcome 
here as are the opinions of all.

 Secondly though perhaps we need to give Rob  the benefit of the doubt..... 
perhaps when he said "they bite", vis a vis S&S hammers, he was referring to 
the brittle quality of over "alternatively prepared" S&S hammers rather than 
any of the myriad 'other' possible meanings ;-)

<<"One only needs to listen to some of the recent (and past)
recordings of Steinway pianos with major artists to appreciate the results.">>

 Tis true that there are legions of recordings of S&S pianos which are 
exemplary examples of what a S&S, well prepared, can sound like....Tis also 
just as true that listening to the recordings will not tell you how the 
hammmers were prepared or even if they were S&S hammers.  Then there is the 
matter of which S&S hammer it is? Generic S&S hammer? Renner S&S hammer?, 
Abel S&S hammer? NY S&S hammer, etc.?

 Nay listening to recordings should not lead us to believe that each and 
every recording represents the 'typical' S&S hammer even as listening to a 
recording of Horowitz does not tell us that his instrument(s) were regulated 
in the 'typical' S&S fashion. Recordings are rather like fossils in that we 
can tell what it is but not why it is, rather like we can tell that 
pterodactyls probably could fly but not 'how' they flew.

  To think that S&S hammers are some monolithic entity is to abuse historical 
reality and one size 'doesn't' fit all. A S&S hammer of today would feel out 
of place next to a S&S hammer of 25, 45, or 100 years ago. For those who 
insist on authenticity and feel surfeited because the 'parts' came from S&S, 
god bless them....but non the less apropo are those who feel that the 
instrument may be well served by "alternative" hammers rather than 
"alternative tecniques regarding preparation".  Thinking that given all the va
rious 'favorite' means of "alternative" treatment ranging from what Del F. 
would do, through what Rob G. would do and at the low end of the scale what 
Jim B. would do, would yield anything like a 'typical' S&S hammer, or sound, 
just flies in the face of reason...doesn't it?

  Yes there is a place for "genuine" S&S hammers in my shop, just not often 
when I have the say so and 'almost' never on a piano that I own.  S&S hammers 
are good quality, but are they the 'best' quality for what you are doing? 
This is a question that each of us must answer for ourselves and our customer 
and the individual instrument..................fortunately Arlan there is no 
'one' correct answer and equally fortunately we have a large selection of 
equally viable alternatives to select from today Thanks to Lloyd, Wally, 
Ernie, etc.
My view.
Jim Bryant (FL)