softer hammers

[Tim Keenan & Rebecca Counts]

List--

I guess anybody who has been to one of Wally Brooks's workshops on tone 
building has seen the trick of using a medium-sized pair of vise-grips 
(with the teeth ground off the jaws) to pinch the shoulders of the 
hammers.  You set the spacing of the jaws about 2 mm less than the 
thickness of the hammer, and then squeeze on the shoulder till it locks. 
This breaks up the lacquer a little bit, resulting in more resilience and 
power and a somewhat softer initial tone. He does it practically 
routinely with most of his hammers (not in the top couple of octaves, 
though).  I have found it to be a very quick and effective technique, and 
have never overdone it by mistake.  I generally start with a very mild 
pinch, and adjust the vise-grips til I get the effect I am looking for.  
This is not a substitute for 'real' voicing. It just gets you in the 
ballpark a lot faster.

Tim Keenan
Terrace, BC