Steve Brady's book...

[Will Truitt]

I agree with Allen on the use of the finer grits of sandpaper along with
deep needling.  On the right piano, it can bring out amazing amounts of
color and texture, particularly in the bass and tenor section.  I recall a
Mason & Hamlin BB  with Renner Blues that I voiced in this manner a few
years ago.  I actually overneedled a bit near the crown in the tenor
section, which made the tone very round but a bit fuzzy.  After progressing
with grits up to 2000 grit, the sound was transformed.  The sound shape
became  much more defined, and the color - chocolaty, velvety textures, oh
my!  It was a piano that I was selling, and I started calling it the two
chord wonder.   A player would come in, sit down,  play a couple of chords,
and start making orgasmic noises..

 

All that to say that with a piano of a particular tonal character, it will
turn a good piano into a piano with a great voice.  All this, and sustain by
the truckload!

 

I usually taper off the grits as I progress from the tenor up.  Some pianos
can sound too antiseptic in the low treble if the grits are too fine.  Also,
don't overneedle near the crown in the bass.  I don't know why, but the bass
hammers seem to be more sensitive to the needles, so listen carefully as you
proceed.  But it can bring a great deal of color to the bass as well.  Also,
I sometimes use a hammer iron where I have buffed the contacting surface to
a high and smooth polish.  I rub it back and forth over the top of the crown
to (cold) iron the felt down.  I do this when I am looking for just a
smidgen more focus to the attack, but a hot iron would add too much edge.  

 

Allen's tips are definitely ones that you want to have in your bag of tricks
if you want to do really high level voicing and create Beauty in a piano's
voice.  Your customers will love you for it.  

 

Will Truitt

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Allen Wright
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 5:48 PM
To: ilvey at sbcglobal.net; Pianotech List; College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: Steve Brady's book...

 

David,

 

Speaking of fitting hammers to strings; for years now I've preferred the
method where you lift the hammers out of the way, then lay a long strip of
bushing cloth over the tops of the reps, drop the hammers back down and
carefully slide the action back in; this causes the hammers to block (if
letoff is reasonably close) and you can then comfortably, and with very
subtle control, lift the hammers to the strings using the piano key - rather
than bending over and using a string lifting hook, or pushing up from under
the whippen. I find it so much easier to control than either of those two
methods. And way easier on the body; doing it from such a relaxed position
encourages me to be even more careful, and enjoy the process more. 

 

Collodion is great as a touch-up or refining voicing solution. Often it's
used diluted with ether, but that's dangerous stuff, and seems difficult to
come buy (perhaps it's very carefully controlled? - not sure) so I recently
mixed up some collodion with acetone, and it worked fine. Didn't explode or
anything  : )   Having used keytop/acetone for many years, my impression of
using collodion is that it seems to create a slightly less edgy or brittle
quality to the tone than keytop. This may just be subjective impression - I
haven't done an A/B comparison; I should, and report back. 

 

I agree with David Love that these hammers are "deep-toned" really
vigorously at first (some may require as many as 150-200 deep strokes) to
create resilience, but then just require the usual kinds of maintenance or
control voicing, usually near or at the strike point (much like NY hammers,
really). Another way of describing the effect this gives is to say that the
tone goes from very vertical (perhaps what David describes as "swallowed up"
and one-dimensional) to a more spread out and horizontal tone, with more
timbral and dynamic variety.

 

All this needling may require several shaping sessions, and finishing using
1200 or even 2000 grit paper will give you super smooth and refined looking
hammers, no doubt about it. Do that to Hamburg Renners that are
intelligently shaped and needled and you'll create a warm and beautiful
sound with nice focused clarity in the attack. It sounds extreme, but it can
make a really nice difference.

 

Allen Wright, RPT

London, England

 

 

 

 

On Jul 2, 2008, at 12:08 AM, David Ilvedson wrote:





List,

 

FYI...

 

In Steve's excellent book, he has interviews with technicians.   One fellow,
Ulrich Gerhartz, London Steinway, wrote about how he maintains the voicing
on his 13 Hamburg Ds...to paraphrase:   he starts with deep needling, low in
the shoulders.  All of the hammers...sometimes below the staple until he is
satisfied the shoulder felt has sufficient resiliency.  (I would like to
know how he determines that resiliency?...at Yamaha/Buena Park, they kept
saying I hadn't deep needled enough...;-]...the projection was quite there I
guess...) He then files to restore the shape and attack.  Maybe a few drops
of collodian. (wish I had access to that...?)   He finishes up with
polishing the hammers from 400 grit to maybe 1200 grit sandpaper.  He fits
hammers to strings with a hook rather than under the wippen/jack ala Yamaha.
I am interested in approaching our Hamburg D in this manner...I was
especially interested to read about the deep shoulder needling as a regular
part of the maintenance...apparently, with playing the shoulders get
compacted too...

 

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA 94044

 

 

 






 

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