Evidence of overlacquered hammers

[Richard Brekne]

David Love wrote:

>There are a number of factors that should come into play when choosing a
>hammer for a particular piano.  The condition of the belly is a crucial
>one that is often neglected.  People tend to pick a single type of
>hammer because that is what they are familiar with or because they like
>the supplier, the price or the name.  My experience suggests that
>certain hammers are simply inappropriate for certain pianos.  An old
>tired soundboard, for example, will not benefit from a very hard pressed
>and/or heavy hammer that requires a lot of needling. 
>
If I understand this correctly, I can only say that my experience does 
not concur.  I have never run into a situation where a soundboard did 
not respond well to high quality hammers of the sort that need needling. 
Nor can I say I've ever run into a piano whoes sounboard could be 
overdriven by one type of hammer and not another. True enough hammers 
can be too massive, but there is nothing to suggest that this can over 
drive a panel IMHO. At some point the hammer simply can not be made to 
transfer any more energy to the panel to begin with due to action 
compliance issues. I suspect in this that Ed McMorrow is far more 
correct then wrong in this regard when he maintains that much lighter 
hammers can do the same job as heavier ones exactly because of this 
compliance issue, and because they are more easily accelerated to 
maximum velocity.

I also have to raise the point that very much has been made by various 
contributers arguing in support of the lacquer technique that it makes 
no difference to begin with from an acoustic point of view which type of 
hammer is used.  If that is so then the above is in confict and one or 
the other must simply give way to the real truth of the matter... 
whatever that be. Said another way... the type of hammer used can not on 
the one hand be so inconsequential and then on the other hand cause a 
soundboard to go into overdrive.

Thirdly... I would point out that I do not subscribe to useing  ... to 
quote "very hard pressed and/or heavy hammer that requires a lot of 
needling"

I use hammers that are moderate weighted hammers appropriatly pressed so 
that a reasonable amount of needling results in a concentration of 
energy at the striking point and a natural felt resiliancy at the level 
I choose

I also believe that problems with terminations are delt with from the 
standpoint of the termination itself being addressed, not trying to 
select a set of hammers that allows one to avoid bettering such problems.

All this said... I have to repeat what I have said many times.  Those 
whose tastes lead them to prefer the different sound characteristics 
that lacquered hammers neccessarilly impart are valuable assets to the 
general diversity of our buisness.... especially those few who are true 
masters of the technique. That I personally do not find the sound of 
said hammers appealing is inconsequential in that regard.

Cheers
RicB