In a message dated Mon, 12 Aug 2002 11:24:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, davidlovepianos@earthlink.net writes: > > > The purpose of my post was to point out that there is a baseline for > preparing hammers that transcends taste. Perhaps that is sticking my neck > out in times where relativism seems to reign supreme, but I'm not afraid to > make a value judgment here. Beyond that baseline preparation there is still > a lot of room for individual taste. My overall opinion is that comes mostly > in the area of attack. > > When I said I could see no reason for leaving a Renner/Abel hammer > unresilient I am making a conjecture, in this case, that the person who said > to leave them alone was probably not responding to the lack of resilience of > the hammer (if it was unresilient, I don't really know what condition that > set of hammers was in), but the improvement over what had been on there > before. Since I prevoice those types of hammer before I put them on, it's > not an issue for me. All hammers of that type get some voicing. And all of > them benefit from creating more resilience. If the person were to insist > that they liked them with no further attention, I would probably still > suggest that I at least even them out. The problem often comes that the > individual doesn't play the piano at all levels when trying it out. They > might sit down and mezzopiano it through some little ditty and it sounds > just fine. But force it a bit, and the lack of attention creating the right > underlying texture rears its ugly head. If that situation were to arise > (and it has) I always try and educate through demonstration. So far, nobody > has asked me to leave those inconsistencies unattended. And I would not be > inclined to do it even if they said they could live with it. Unless they > were really insistent that they wanted it that way I would not feel that the > job was finished until I had addressed those finer points. I don't think > that doing so would change the overall character of the tone but it > certainly would refine it. > > If they hire me to do the job, they hire me, in part, for my expertise in > this area. I explain beforehand what I will do, the voicing that is > required as part of the job, and the follow up after a certain amount of > playing to go over it again. > > I am talking about replacing hammers above. When I encounter a piano for > the first time and I see the need for voicing, I will ask them how they feel > about the tone. I'm not pushy, but if I judge that it's a piano and player > interested in the potential of the instrument, I will give them an overall > assessment after tuning of the general condition. I am constantly surprised > at the number of people who never knew regulation and voicing was an option > with a piano. They just thought what they heard was what they got. That > kind of assessment combined with inquiries about their goals for the type of > instrument they want have led to a number of rebuilding jobs. I am > realistic and fair. If somebody has a Lester spinet (and I do have a couple > of people who not only have them, but love them), I would not try and talk > them into a rebuilding job. There are times when it's best to leave well > enough alone. > > David Love > I understand David, thanks for clarifying. David Koelzer Vintage Pianos DFW
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