Hammer voicing solutions

[Tony Geers]

For fear of beating a dead horse (or dead hammer) I thought I would respond to
the hammer voicing question as it pertains to the Renner hammer.  For several
years we used the Renner Blues exclusively in our factory.  They preformed very
well to the voicing suggestions made by Renner's representative, Rick Baldassin.


However, a little over a year ago, we noticed a drastic change in the hammer.
It appeared that the outer layer of felt had little or no tension to it.  When
filing the hammers with a paddle, a very large amount of felt would roll off.
Then we found that it was nearly impossible to  strip sand the hammer smooth.
At one point we ended up ironing the felt just to improve its appearance.  And
finally we found the hammers to be way too soft.  We tried everything we could
think of, but juicing the hammers was the only thing that would work.

We consulted with both, Rick and Lloyd Meyer, about the problem and both tried
to be very helpful, but the end result was still the same.  So now, we have been
forced to switch to another brand.

The problem I have is justifying the cost if this is what we must do to get the
hammers to work.  The first day I hear that Renner Blues are the same quality
they were a couple of years ago, I will start buying them again.  They were very
good.

The hardest thing for a manufacturer to do is make a good hammer.  Steinway is
good evidence to that.

The best to all of you.
Tony Geers