[CAUT] Weikert felt --was: Chopstick tool needles?

[Paul T Williams]

Ed,
I've used them now (Wally's Naturals) perhaps a dozen times.  I love them! 
 Very easy to work with in both classroom pianos and practice rooms. Right 
out of the box (with Wally's one day seminar) I find them very forgiving. 
However, in the practice rooms, I'm finding them brightening up fairly 
quickly, but easily voiced down with a few stitches on the near crown 
areas.

I should have used them on our Steinway D in our main hall, but our piano 
dept. head insisted on Steinway hammers!~  They're a bear to work with and 
to cooperate the way I want. I'm sorry I got them.  They're VERY sensitive 
on juicing or needling, but,  I'm getting there, but are much harder to 
voice. what I should have done is put on those Ables on and let him oooh 
and ahhh about how great they sound, and then tell him what they are!! ;>) 
Too late!  Now have to go in tomorrow at 6pm to tune it to our Baldwin D 
together and unacorda voicing on it before I can't get to further fine 
voicing. Sunday morning at 8:30am for all day Chamberfest!  My bad! I'll 
now go to bed at midnight!

Best,

Paul




From:
"Ed  Sutton" <ed440 at mindspring.com>
To:
<caut at ptg.org>
Date:
11/19/2010 01:09 PM
Subject:
Re: [CAUT] Weikert felt --was: Chopstick tool needles?



Susan-
 
My experience has been with Abel Naturals, on two S & S M's, an S & S B, M 
& H BB, Yamaha G-3 and U-1 and an old Gulbransen baby grand.
All very positive. Far less than usual needling to open up. Low shoulder 
needling gave more power when I needed it.
Less noise from the capo duplex. Heavy use pianos don't need as much 
maintenance voicing. 
 
I have not yet heard them in a large auditorium.
 
Ed 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Susan Kline 
To: caut at ptg.org 
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 12:03 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Weikert felt --was: Chopstick tool needles?

Ji, Ed, this is very good news, both for piano tone 
and (eventually) for the budgets of our various institutions. 

Do you think these hammers would be suitable for a 1934 
seven-foot Baldwin grand (still with a very nice board)? 
Mine is ready for new hammers. 

Susan Kline


On 11/19/2010 4:45 AM, Jim Busby wrote: 
Ed,
The new “Blue Point” hammers (Renner, with Weikert felt) look and feel 
nearly identical to some 80 year old hammers that were on a D I saw and 
wrote about last year. They indeed have more resilience and need less 
voicing maintenance. I’ve worked on several Weikert felt hammers, but 
these are different than any of them. If they last 80 years it wouldn’t 
surprise me a bit. I like this “new” (old) era!
Jim Busby

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ed 
Sutton
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 6:52 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Chopstick tool needles?
Susan-
We may be entering a new (old) era, with the return of Weikert and Abel 
Natural hammer felts.
These hammers seem to respond with less needling and few chemicals, they 
seem to hold the voicing longer, and to come back with a spray of rubbing 
alcohol and/or light brushing. Resilient. I think we'll find them lasting 
longer, and that voicing will be a lot easier on the wrists.
(Vodka if you prefer, but rubbing alcohol is cheaper.)
Ed Sutton



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