Heavy Hammers / High Ratio / Ric

[Richard Brekne]

Ah.... this clarifies something I've been wondering about for a while.. Thank
you kindly.

But back to how this relates to the origional  thrust of this thread then....
and again leaving the question of compliance aside for just a bit... is there
any reason why larger amounts of hammer mass (appropriatly dense for your
purposes) traveling at increased amounts of velocity should be a problem for
the dynamics of sound... ie getting that smooth warm pp and graduating to a
bright forte ?

I aggree with the position that in general, hammers are made too dense, and
become increasingly difficult to keep voiced as they wear in. Tho I have run
into hammers that were so soft you could not get any tone colour beyond that
which normally accompanies pp play.. no matter how hard you played... and
needed lacquer to compensate. I cant see that that is any better a situation.

RicB

Delwin D Fandrich wrote:

> >
> > So what is it about loud booming sound then that you find unattractive
> then Del
> > ? Am I mistaken in understanding you much prefer to limit the upper
> volume
> > level of the piano ? Why ?
>
> Yes, you are mistaken. I have no problem with extending the dynamic range
> of the piano on both ends -- pianissimo and forte. I do not, however, find
> it acceptable to extend the forte range at the expense of a smooth and warm
> pianissimo. Once the sound becomes linear, i.e., losing dynamic expression,
> we lose the essence of the pianoforte. One might as well buy a keyboard and
> crank the volume up.
>
> It is easy to provide the illusion of power by simply putting hard-pressed
> hammers (of any reasonable mass) on most any piano regardless of how it is
> built or designed. But what is lost is the warmth and expression. The idea
> is to provide not just a volume control but a volume control coupled with a
> tone control.
>
> It is my opinion that many, if not most, modern piano makers have taken the
> easy road to power by simply making the hammers dense and fluffing the
> surface to get them out the door. Give the things a few months or years of
> reasonable play and the start to sound like rocks. Then it your fault
> because you can't voice the things to make them sound like new.
>
> Del
>
> Del
>
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--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
UiB, Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html
http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html