Yamaha Hammers in Steinway "O" was RE: New Steinway Hammers was---hammer thickness

[cclpianos at aol.com]

Message: 8
Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:15:25 -0700
From: "David Ilvedson" <ilvey at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: New Steinway Hammers  was---hammer thickness trimming jig
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Message-ID: <00272E26081F150F196D002004 at David>
Content-Type: text/plain;   charset="ISO-8859-1"

Hi David, 



Yes, they were awesome. Now mind you eveyone's attitude toward a "perfect" tone differs. 

But having rebuilt many SW's in my life I know the frustration many techs feel after installing a fluffy hammer. 


In the past, I used sanding sealer for my SW hammers instead of lacquer. Sanding sealer is lacquer with an additive, Stearate. 


The stearate makes the lacquer brittle and will break down over time. It also can be reverse voiced unlike straight lacquer. 


As for the Yamaha hammers, I would say they bring out the best of the bass and crisp up the treble quite nicely. Clarity comes to mind. 


They have been the best "out of the box" hammer I have ever used. They are also one of the easiest hammers to voice. 



My technique, uhh, well, aside from using my ears, having satisfied some of the best ears in the music industry

is none other than good old fashioned filing, string voicing, and hammer alignment. I shade the

the differences starting with the softest hammer and working outward. My needling tends to be very deep on the shoulders

and shallow around the strike points. 


Patrick










I'd be interested in your voicing technique for the those Y
amaha hammers...were 
they great right out of the box?

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044

----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: cclpianos at aol.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Received: 8/31/2008 7:00:10 AM
Subject: Re: New Steinway Hammers  was---hammer thickness trimming jig


>Having just read the blurb on the Steinway hammers: I have used Yamaha hammers 
>on my Steinway "O" and loved the results. I have never lacquered them. They are 
a 
>bit pricey but are nearly identical in gram weight and physical dimensions. I 
did this 
>after meeting a recording studio engineer from LA, whose piano had the 
>modification.

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