Thanks Barbara, No, I knew you weren't trying to conduct a controlled research experiment. Your impressions just as you are giving them are great. You know, a little bit here and little bit there, you never know what might help give you a useful clue or bit of context later. The comment about the Yamaha clips is intriguing to me, too, because I have one piano whose hammers have lost a lot of felt over the years...and I've often been curious how much of what I'm hearing is due to loss of mass and how much is due to loss of "cushion," i.e., the thickness of the felt. Not to mention the strike angle being slightly changed. You wrote: "everything was improved with the lighter hammers, initial attack through decay. Again, the tone color variety available was superb." I will be curious to hear your full report later -- from your earlier reports of this piano, it sure sounds like you have it performing beautiful leaps and bounds better than it has in a long time! Best regards, Trent Lesher -----Original Message----- From: Barbara Richmond [mailto:piano57@flash.net] Sent: Fri 11/19/2004 6:05 PM To: Lesher, Trent J. Cc: Subject: Re: Your practical hammer weight experiment (was RE: Good book on voicing...?) Hi Trent, Actually, I'm not smart enough to think up such a gem. But I am a good student (still in learning plenty after 22 1/2 years) and willing to try new things. So, thank Bill Ballard, he's the one who suggested the experiment to me, though later he admitted he had never actually done it. That guy! :-) I wasn't experimenting for the sake of piano science, only trying to find what would work on *this* particular piano (Steinway D) with *this* set of hammers (big & heavy). So, I can't make any generalizations or proclaim any knowledge or wisdom on the subject of hammer weight--only my taste in voicing. I had three concerns to rectify--carrying power, touchweight and musical flexibility for the pianist. With the too heavy hammers, the tone was muffled, though pleasant--especially compared to the previous granite voicing. Compared to the lighter hammers, the too heavy hammers did not carry as well out into the hall. The range of tone color was not as good with the too heavy hammers as with the lighter ones. Actually, everything was improved with the lighter hammers, initial attack through decay. Again, the tone color variety available was superb. I'm sorry I can't be more scientific about it all, I was just searching for the best voice for this piano in this setting. I'm planning on writing about my adventure and getting into more detail, later. My past experience with hammers that were too light (and it was may fault they got that way! :-o), again on a D, was there was not enough power or depth of tone. Those Yamaha clips to add weight saved me until something could be done. Whew! It's an easy experiment. Just remember to number the hammers! :-) Barbara Richmond, RPT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lesher, Trent J." <tlesher@sachnoff.com> To: "Barbara Richmond" <piano57@flash.net>; "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 1:42 PM Subject: Your practical hammer weight experiment (was RE: Good book on voicing...?) Thanks Barbara. This is a real clear, practical nugget. Can you explain a little more what it sounds like when you hear "interference," going if possible from the attack, through the initial stronger sound, to the sustain after the first second, finally on through the decay? ****** IMPORTANT NOTICE ****** This e-mail, and any attachments hereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail, and any attachments hereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify me at (312) 207-1000 and permanently delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and any printout thereof.
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