Hi Andre....by the way thanks for your voicing book....now how about that bit on hanging hammers that you mentioned in the book??? André Oorebeek wrote: > In the case of older Steinways I send away the original keys and key > frame to a keyboard factory in germany and I have them replace the > balance rail a bit to the back. > That gives me the right leverage I need for a brand new action. > Actually as I indicated in my original post, I did in fact redesign this action/keyboard to allow the use of modern weight hammers with appropriate leverages, and it worked nicely. My musings on what "earlier", softer, lighter, currently unavailable hammers might allow this instrument to sound like was looking at the question from a different perspective. "Modern" tastes in piano tone have optimized power as if tonal power were a holy grail. I challenge this tonal assumption...actually dissatisfaction with the tonal assumptions inherent in modern piano tone inspired me to become a tech. Having listened to and been entranced with earlier tastes in piano tone, and also having heard a very, very few modern instruments where sustain and singing tone, rather than power characterized the tone, I was curious how this piano, which geometric evidence suggests was designed with a different tonal pallete in mind, would sound with an appropriate hammer. Alas, appropriate hammers for this leverage are no longer available, so my musing continued, "what if we mess with the hammer's brain?" I do wish someone with experience in the Lighthammer technique would chime in here. What Andre says about the felt "excavation" producing, in a short time, a less than well rounded tone makes intuitive sense...but there are people messing with hammers in this way and reporting good results...any chimer inners? Jim I -- Jim Ialeggio grandpianosolutions.com 978- 425-9026 Shirley, MA
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