Hi, Keena, At 06:19 AM 9/11/2004, you wrote: Judging from the time of your message, chances are that you have already had to do what you had to do. >I have to tune a concert on a Hamburg Steinway D. The artist would like >to have the bass hammers brighter but not louder. > >Any thoughts appreciated. There are a number of different ways to approach this question; and, (I hope) you will get a number of different answers. While no one system is necessarily better than another, there are some that are considered to be more traditionally accepted, which leave the hammers more susceptible to future work, the instrument more versatile, and produce better short term effects. If things are at a point at which you can share some additional information, that might be helpful in making more relevant suggestions. The kinds of things I am thinking about here have to do with the size and nature of the hall (How live? How dead? A/C? Overall climate?, age and overall condition of the instrument (Strings? Dampers? Action?), general major usage of the instrument (Classical? Pop? etc.)...in other words, help to create an overall understanding of what the situation might be, and how this specific piano fits into it. If you are still on the horns of your dilemma, what you might do will depend on things like, how much time you have, how much experience you have with this kind of work (be honest, at least with yourself...and, please do understand that _all_ of us have been beginners at some point or other...), how picky are the artists in general wherever you are? (Is the present person within a reasonable range of those who usually use the piano? If not, is there criticism well-grounded?...etc...a whole other discussion.) So as not to put you off entirely, I think that a great deal would depend on how much time I had. If I had only exceptionally limited time, I _might_ be tempted to use an exceptionally light solution of lacquer sanding sealer in an acetone carrier...perhaps on the order of 11:1 acetone to sealer. (Using this combination gives you the most versatility for going back and making changes later. The acetone evaporates very quickly; and the sanding sealer breaks down. Whatever else you do do, please, do not succumb to the temptation to use plastic...it is, essentially irreversible...and, if used at all, should be used exceptionally sparingly and only in exceptionally thin solution.) If I had somewhat more time, I would probably spend some time with the needles and sandpaper files; and, based on _my own_ experience, would most likely look at taking back a little from the lower to mid-tenor rather than trying to bring up the bass. Too much hardness on hammers in a D, especially a Hamburg, is going to sound like so much broken glass in the hall and will distort badly. Much more frequently, what the performer perceives as too little bass, is, in fact, too much tenor. The other place to check very quickly before starting is the first treble section. Use good, solid FFF blows. If the sound breaks up/distorts/becomes musically unusable - then that area is already too hot, and needs to be cut back. It is the weakest area in the scale, and has the least latitude for error. So, the very short version here is: 1.- Check the first treble on it's own. 2.- Check the first treble in relation with the lower to mid-tenor. 3.- Check the first treble in relation with the overstrung, especially the bottom octave. 4.- Check the balance between the bass (overall) to the lower to mid-tenor. 5.- Check the balance between the E and F at the bass break and the C# and D at the first treble break. If you are already losing the first treble in any of the first three steps, and/or if you have to be really pounding it to keep things in balance, the best thing to do might be nothing at all until you truly have some time to work out whatever is going on. If the first treble is reasonably balanced in the first three steps, then pay very close attention to number 4. If the lower to mid-tenor is already pretty blasty at FFF and the bass is loud but not quite at the same level, you will probably be better advised to cut back the tenor than to try to bring up the bass. As to number five, whichever of these produces the weakest transition is what determines how "loud" the piano may be made without pushing the limits too far....which is to say, don't go there unless you have either: A.- enough time to really fix the problem later; and/or, B.- enough money to replace the hammers in case they really get messed up. As you have probably guessed, this is not exactly a walk in the park; and, a Hamburg D is not the best of all possible pianos on which to have this kind of experience. At the same time, if you work carefully, and take your time to do a good deal of listening between steps (particularly if you wind up having to use chemicals), you will be fine. End of lecture....hope there is something useful in it for you. >This is the first time that I've used this system. Please excuse me, if >there are any duplicates. No problem, at all. This is what these lists are for. Besides, the only truly stupid questions are the ones we do not askk. Best regards and luck! Horace >Thanks, > >Keena Keel, RPT > > > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > >_______________________________________________ >caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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