You don't want to go too soft on those things or it can sound weird or you'll have to lacquer them up which can be self defeating over time. Still, with that much playing time on a weekly basis and a 30 year old soundboard that I'm sure is getting to the percussive side I might consider one of Ronsen's firmer hammers, firm it up minimally with a very dilute lacquer solution if necessary and let it play up the rest of the way over a couple of months. Personally, I couldn't do the job for just a few hundred more that what the prehung Yamaha hammer go for and one thing to consider is that the newer Yamaha hammers aren't quite the quarried chunks of stone that they used to be. I helped my kids' school purchase a C7 two years ago and the hammers are very nice, not too hard, I didn't have to voice them down at all after the piano was delivered and even now the tone is still very nice. Whether they will provide the newer style hammers when ordering a prehung set for an older C5 is another matter. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Michael Magness Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:20 PM To: Pianotech List Subject: [pianotech] Replacing Hammers on a Yamaha C5 I was approached by a local school district about regualating their Yamaha C5 which is in a classroom and used a minimum of 5 hours daily. The piano was new in 1978 and the hammers appear to have never been shaped. For a number of years it was kept on the stage in a closet reserved for it and used minimally. about 9 or 10 years ago it was moved to the classroom and has remained there ever since. The hammers could be shaped but with the use they get would not last more than a few years and they are marginal for shaping anyway. I checked with Yamaha, I recalled that they used to offer a fairly low price on hammers mounted on shanks with flanges, the current price is $1400 and change. This is a public school and price is a concern however doing the job correctly is of a deeper concern for me. My concern is, putting new japanese hammers on a piano of this age, since it isn't being restrung. For a few hundred more I could replace the shanks/flanges and replace the hammers with after market like Abels or Ronsens. I fully intend to rebush keys as necessary, bolster backchecks do any other necessary repairs and regulate after the hammer replacement. My reason for posting is, I'm looking for feedback and suggestions from those who are experienced with hammer replacement on asian pianos of or nearing this age, agree or disagree. Mike -- I intend to live forever. So far, so good. Steven Wright Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com email mike at ifixpianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090311/e2f38d7b/attachment.html>
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