The "negative influence of bullies & dictators" is minimal, but we do have at least one wanna be dictator...;-] David I. >I have noticed however that talking on this list is a sensitive and serious >matter. Europeans and Americans 'often' have different tasts, methods, >techniques, materials. I have learned this a long time ago and maybe it >would be wise to again explain that it was/s never my intention to push my >opinion here. One of the interesting aspects of this forum is the exchange >of ideas without the negative influence of bullies and dictators. >just my two EURO's >friendly greetings >from >Antares, >Amsterdam, Holland >"where music is, no harm can be" >visit my website at : http://www.concertpianoservice.nl/ >> From: JIMRPT@AOL.COM >> Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org >> Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 09:08:49 EDT >> To: pianotech@ptg.org >> Subject: of Q-tips and bricks...was Night And Day >> >> >> In a message dated 02/07/02 8:04:07 AM, antares@EURONET.NL writes: >> >> << OK, I'll shut up then. >> >> >> Don't you dare.......................if'n y'all does yo hammer gonna fall >> off...... >> >> There are soooo many hammer makers because there is such a wide variety of >> tastes in initial tone. Perception of the installer has a great deal to do >> with what is : >> "too hard", too soft"... Oh to be sure there are objective measurements that >> can be done...but we don't listen to measurements we listen to tone. For any >> tech too say that a particular brand of hammer is too hard in general....is >> in itself a 'perceptual' general statement that can be safely ignored. With >> most of the different hammer qualities being more or less mutually exclusive >> one hammer can't be all things to all techs........... >> >> Voicing philosophy must come into play with each new set of hammers >> installed and should be taken into account 'before' the hammer is purchased. >> It is no secret that I use Abel and Renner almost to the exclusion of >> anything else... I do so because to my way of thinking there is no finer >> hammer on the market than one of these two. Does that make me right and >> everyone else wrong?...of course not. >> >> If your preference is to start with Q-tips and harden them to a usable >> point ...then go right ahead and do so.... >> On the other hand if bricks suit you better...have at it. Just bear in mind >> that your choice does not nullify the choice of others, nor does it make you >> right and them wrong. Jon says that he prefers to start with a firmer hammer >> and voice down as opposed to a softer hammer and juice up and I agree with >> him and that particular philosophy. As anecdotal evidence of the veracity of >> this choice let me say that I have many, many, many sets of Abels and Renners >> on 'performance' pianos and pianos owned by 'professionals' up and down the >> East coast and I have 'never' been asked to change a set of hammers...I think >> to find three sets with the same player says more about taste/technique than >> it does about the hammers. >> >> As for "can't we get away from this".....no we can't..not if we want to >> duplicate the tonal qualities of a particular instrument as closely as >> possible....everything changes over the years of course but generally >> speaking if we want a Hamburg to sound like a Hamburg than we need to use the >> same thingees Hamburg used. We can, however, use something different and >> arrive at a verrry pleasing tonal quality that is 'different' from but not >> needfully 'better' than the original..... >> >> Manufacturers use what they use because they get the results they desire >> best from what thay use...if not, they will change what they use. Individual >> techs use what they use for similar reasons....Your choice 'juice up' or >> 'voice down' butttt keep in mind 'your choice' is just that. >> My view. >> Jim Bryant (FL) >> >>
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