Steinway hammers

[Horace Greeley]

Dave, Mark, et al,

I absolutely concur with the following - with the caveat so appropriately
noted by David, i.e.:

	"Then treated properly..."

Like so much else, this is a question of the whole being more than the sum
of its parts.

Best, and have a great weekend.

Horace



At 09:12 AM 2/14/97 -0500, you wrote:
>>I recently put Abel hammers on a B with great results. But there is no
>>sound like Steinway hammers voiced to their fullest. I have renewed awe
>>for the brand, and am very thankful for all the information that you
>>people put on this forum! It is a great resource.
>>Mark Graham
>
>I echo Mark's support for the NY Steinway Hammer.  When treated properly
>they are the best hammer in the world and embody the qualities in my
>favorite voicing quote:
>
>"The art in hammer making has ever been to obtain a solid,
> firm foundation, graduating in softness and elasticity toward
> the top surface, which latter has to be silky and elastic in
> order to produce a mild, soft tone for pianissimo playing, but
> with sufficient resistace back of it to permit the hard blow of
> fortissimo playing."                 - Alfred Dolge 1911
>
>
>An interesting note.  A hammer is the felt and the felt is the fiber.  Long
>renowned in felt making circles is the wool fiber from South African Merino
>Sheep.  The finest, most resilient felt is produced from blends that have a
>high percentage of this fiber.
>
>For decades South African wool fiber has been generally absent from piano
>hammers produced with felt made by countries who joined in the embargos on
>the previously racist regime.  With the uplifting change in politics and the
>lifting of embargos, South African Merino Wool Fiber is once again used in
>Steinway hammers.  This information is from the president of the Bacon Felt
>Co. in Taunton Mass. who produce hammer felt for Stenway, not to far from my
>home on Martha's Vineyard.
>
>David C. Stanwood
>
>
>
Horace Greeley

Ars langa, Vita brevis

Stanford University
email: hgreeley@leland.stanford.edu
voice mail: 415.725.9062
LiNCS help line: 415.725.4627