Raise from the dead?

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 1/30/99 9:40:09 AM Central Standard Time,
Robert.Goodale@NAU.EDU writes:

<< So, any suggestions about how I could possibly save these things,
 even for the short term?
 
 
 Thanks for your input.
 
 
 Rob Goodale, RPT >>

Use a very light mix of acetone and keytop.  Mix it so that it looks like whey
or very watered-down skim milk.  (You remember these things from having lived
in the dairy state, don't you?)  You may need more than one application.  Just
soak the entire striking surface area.  When you get it up to where it is
beyond what you want (tinny)  take a single needle and poke right inside the
marks that the strings have made.  Try one poke in the middle of the mark in
each hammer.  If you need more, poke each mark two or three times.  For the
soft pedal voicing, needle several times the spare left side of the hammer.

Many people have had to deal with your situation.  Yes, you should eventually
replace the hammers but this will make a quite remarkable recovery for what
otherwise is a disaster.  This is basically the approach that a Steinway
technician uses.  It is quick and effective.  The needling is all important.
It seems directly contrary to what you may have been taught.  But the
hardening technique is also different from what is usually recommended.

I have used this technique many, many times.  It works very well.  Steinway
calls it "precision voicing".  I use the same idea when voicing very ordinary
pianos.  I don't do it very often but when I do, it is a quick and very
effective way of producing very even sounding, positive results.  You can't
dismiss the benefits of that.

Some of the voicing jobs I have received the highest praise on were ones that
I spent only a 15 or 20 minutes doing.  (I've heard people say this about
their tuning, too.) This does not mean that more careful, studied and
traditional voicing techniques will not be of value when you get those new
hammers in but I do believe this technique will work in the meantime.

Sincerely,
Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin