---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment In a message dated 10/3/2004 10:15:05 PM Pacific Standard Time, sarah@graphic-fusion.com writes: Question: As long as I use reasonable care and don't tear up the fiber structure of the hammer, is all needling reversable with ironing and/or age hardening? Sarah, No. The purpose of needling is to "unfelt" the felt, deep in the hammer. Ironing and use can cause the surface fibers to relax and compact somewhat, but the genie is out of the bottle deeper down. Needling lowers the stiffness of the hammer by separating fibers, thereby shifting energy to the lower partials. The trick, of course, is to stop at the right point, where the mass and stiffness match for best spectrum. As the mass of the hammer is reduced later by filing, the spectrum brightens up, and more needling can be required. Another effect of needling is related to the "battery voicing" that the Europeans talk about. In some hammers, the inner felt is so "felted" that it doesn't act like a spring at all, but mass only. In this case, the sound may be bright but choked. Loosening up the tight inner felt will increase power by increasing the resilience (ability of the hammer to store and release energy efficiently), thereby increasing the fundamental, while still getting the hammer off the strings and allowing some upper partials for color (some of the compression is released from the deeper part of the hammer, increasing the compression near the surface). European hammers tend toward being a little too tight intentionally, so that the voicer can manipulate internal tension to taste. Spoken as a voicer, not a scientist, with respect for your scientific knowledge. Bob Davis ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/d9/ea/48/a8/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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