S&S Hammers

[Arlan Harris]

Dear Jim  Briant,

/Thank you for contributing your ideas regarding the S&S Hammers. Please
allow me to
address some of the issues and comments you brought up.:

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 11:08:55 EST
From: JIMRPT@AOL.COM
Subject: Re:  s&s hammers

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.
Arlan: Thank you for the open arms treatment.
 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 ;-)
Arlan: yes, perhaps this is true....

<<"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.?
Arlan: You are correct regarding knowing for sure if the hammers are ,
indeed Steinway
or not on a recording. However, from personal experience, there exist many
fine
recordings which are using steinways that have 100% all Steinway genuine
parts. Most of
the major concert halls are set up that way. However, you do have a point.
Regarding the
abel s& s hammer, etc.....I was referring to the factory hammers that are
available for
steinways both in new york AND hamburg. I assumed that was what Rob Goodale
was
reffering to. 

 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. 
Arlan: I believe there is no "Typical" S&S hammer and there never should
be. Part of the
beauty of working with the Steinway hammer is that the technician has a
full pallette of
colors and dynamic range to work with, being able to custom design the
hammer to the
individual piano or artist.

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.
Arlan : I do not agree with this. Good quality recording (some even include
technical
information regarding the piano) listened to on good quality equipment can
be very
representative of the actual sound produced. Please remember, Jim, that in
my reply to
Rob I also mentioned attending live concerts in good halls with Steinway
pianos
(containing original Steinway parts....yes, a few of those still exist!)

  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.
Arlan: Jim , That is very true, however , we are straying from the point I
wanted to bring
up. If you are talking about restoring an older Steinway instrument and
matching
specs....ok. that is another thread I am sure. However, I assumed Rob was
referring to the
modern Steinway and original hammers supplied by Steinway at the New York
Factory
(could be Hamburg for that matter). Please , Let's not stray, for now.

 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 techniques regarding preparation". 

Arlan: Dear Jim, again, I think we are straying from the original idea. I
have nothing
against trying alternative means, even unorthodox ways of achieving touch
or sound.
However, I simply wanted to respond to Rob regarding the comment that Steinway
hammers "Stink".  I know excellent techs that have very unorthodox ways of
working
with hammers, etc.....

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?

Arlan: Jim, really, lets get off this "alternative" preparation topic as it
is really going down
a different road. Actually, I think that by being able to have alternative
treatments and
techniques available to use at our discretion is part of the fun and beauty
of our craft.
Don't you agree?

  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. 
Arlan: Ok...

 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)
Arlan: Jim, let me thank you for contributing and taking this farther. I
agree that there are
other fine hammer makers out there (Wally, Lloyd, Ernie, Etc...) and I
speak from
personal experience using their hammers. However, if you look at my
original message, I
simply was interested in responding to Robs comment that "Steinway Hammers
Bite",
that's all.

Btw, Jim, I want to say that it is a pleasure to have an intelligent and
interesting tech. such
as yourself on the list. I appreciate your views, and ,in fact, do not
think we differ much if
at all. However, I find the Steinway hammer , prepared properly and
according to the
conditions of the instrument at hand , of extremely good quality.

Just one tech.s opinion. No flame suit on, we're all in this together......
Arlan