[CAUT] New S&Sons hung hammers

[Dennis Johnson]

Hi David,

Thank you for the info and reply, and I will certainly consider all this.
I know of the piano you speak from LA that was a joint project between
Anderson and Erwin.  Awesome piano! We played it during one of our piano
shopping trips last summer and it is currently on it's way to Minnesota. We
loved the piano but weren't really looking for D's so we commissioned a B.
A local private customer of mine ending up buying the piano for his home.
He's also got a Mason & Hamlin CC coming also.  It remains to be seen how
both of these will fit in his home, but that's another story.

In the past I tried to avoid moving capstans thinking this was part of an
inherent geometry (in a good pianos) we should respect by matching knuckle
dimensions and adjust hammer weight accordingly to work with that.  In
recent years I've ended up using 17m shanks more as a standard procedure,
as I believe lots of us have.  Sometimes that means moving capstans as my
last project on a 1911 S&S M.  This piano now has 17m shanks with more
modern weight hammers and .420" dip that feels great.  Decades later, if
tastes change and someone desires it can always be changed back.

warm regards,

Dennis Johnson
St. Olaf College

______________________

On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 3:29 AM, David Stanwood <stanwood at tiac.net> wrote:

> Hi Denis,
>
> I re-graphed your graph and created a graph showing SW zones:
>
> http://stanwoodpiano.com/**SteinwayD-StockNY-2012-05-17.**pdf<http://stanwoodpiano.com/SteinwayD-StockNY-2012-05-17.pdf>
>
> I created a specification for "least work", that is to say the closest
> possible average of the existing Strike Weights.  For this set of hammers
> the result is a good fit for projection in a large hall.  It starts at
> curve #9 - TopMedium and crosses up to curve #11 - 1/2 High at note #44.
>  These hammers are not unusually heavy for Steinway D.  although there are
> plenty of examples of much lighter sets coming out of Steinway NY over the
> years, some as light as 1/2 medium, and I've seen a few examples of heavier
> sets recently. Measure, Measure, Measure is the rule here.
>
> Your Touch Weight Metrology analysis data is important and brings up the
> core issue with rehammering any piano.  What is a good ratio match for the
> hammer weight? (or vise versa)  In this case the hammer weight is the
> priority for full projection in a big hall.  Your analysis by sampling
> Strike Weight Ratio across the keyboard indicates an average ratio of 5.9.
>  This is a problem.  If you want to go with the recommended Strike Weights
> in the High Zone the dynamic feel of the action will be too heavy with this
> mismatch.
>
> I can report directly from experience on this.  David Andersen has a
> Steinway D with SALA (Stanwood Adjustable Leverage Action).  We've been
> showing piano this around LA and also brought it to Seattle for a
> conference.  The Strike Weights on this piano were set at curve #10 - 1/4
> high with a median ratio of Strike Weight Ratio of 5.5.  A number of what I
> would call - Strong Male Professional Pianists tested out this piano and
> settled on a touch setting of #4, (#1 being lightest and #5 heaviest.)  #4
> SALA setting corresponds to a ratio of 5.8.  So your piano with a slightly
> heavier weight level with a higher ratio of 5.9 would feel too heavy for
> these strong fellos by this reckoning.  You want to create an action that
> has broad appeal to visiting pianists.  So 5.9 will narrow the field
> tremendously.  By another note Andersen's SALA D piano, Lang Lang performed
> on it and preferred SALA setting #1 which corresponds to a ratio of 5.2.
>
> I'm assuming you have current Steinway parts with a Knuckle Core radius of
> 17mm.
> The solution for you might be to work with the capstan line to reduce the
> ratio level to a more average appeal.  I recommend 5.5.  This is also the
> standard established by studies of Hamburg Steinways which showed average
> ratio of 5.5 and average Strike Weights that closely match what you have in
> this example of Stock NY Steinway D Hammers.
>
> If you are not confident in moving a capstan line then I advise seeking
> help from someone skilled in this.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> David STanwood
>
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