I cant speak for these hammers specifically, but in general I would suggest never using stock hammers from any factory. There are several suppliers of high quality hammers around... find a type you like to work with for different types of instruments and stay with them. Myself, I use Wurzen II's from Renner and these are pressed to different degrees depending on the type of piano. Using a manufacturers hammers means getting used to voicing their way... and perhaps to some degree accepting their idea of piano voice. I dont really like that idea so much myself. Cheers RicB Anyone care to share your experiences with the new S&S Hammers from this summer? They come with a note to us Technicians...... ________ "Due to a process improvement in the manufacturing...... you may notice a slightly harder hammer. With this in mind we would suggest that you do not juice these hammers before testing in the piano. Juicing these hammers before installation and pre-testing may result in a brighter than anticipated tone. " ________ OK- Actually the hammers looked good and shaped up just fine. I did not put one drop of lacquer or any other hardener on these hammers except for 4 notes in the high treble. The piano has been back in service now for a couple months. They are bright indeed!! Just this morning the faculty pianist actually told me that now he "hates" this piano. I am trying keep him patient and working with them, but there is only so much needling I can do. I can't take the piano out of service to wash them with thinner until maybe Christmas break. The worst part is that it starts to make me look bad when the player is beginning to wish he had the old worn hammers back...... @#$! I'm sorry, but we are not paid enough to take that kind of responsibility for materials. So.... Anyone else have a better experience? Maybe it's just this set- thanks, Dennis Johnson St. Olaf College
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