Gevaert: Each hammer maker has their own technique. I don't tend to use Abel hammers because I don't find the felt to be as responsive. Methods recommended by the US supplier include squeezing the shoulders with pliers. Though some will make the argument that this is less destructive to the felt than needles, I have a problem with a hammer that requires that sort of treatment. The method I use on Renner is as outlined by Rick Baldassin in a pamphlet provided by Renner USA. Contact Lloyd Meyer at www.rennerusa.com (I think) to get a copy. The basic procedure involves deep needling the shoulders of the hammer between 9:00 and 10:30, and 1:30 and 3:00 on each side of the hammer. The pamphlet suggests using needles 10mm in length. I don't go quite that deep and less so as I move up the scale. Maybe 8mm in the bass down to about 5 mm in the treble. The aiming point is a point in the felt down below the moulding. Think of it as the spokes in a wheel with the center of the wheel several millimeters below the top of the moulding. I needle in a caul that holds 25 or so hammers at a time on the bench. This makes it easier to do more uniform needling and not worry about holding the hammer with my other hand. I do it by feel squeezing the hammers until they feel right. Firm but I can compress them with my fingers a bit. Sets vary and so will the amount of needling required. Afterwards I file to restore shape and iron the felt to lay down the fibers. One advantage of preneedling is that the felt needs some time to respond to the needling and will continue to change for awhile after. So I prefer to do this well before I get to the piano. Additional needling will be necessary at the piano to address other tonal areas but this provides a good foundation. Needling this area should not take any brightness out of the hammer. One thing about Renner hammers is that they make different hammers and each one has a different level of hardness. A Renner made for Boesendorfer is much harder than a Renner Blue. No matter what hammer you are using, however, the goal is the same, to create resilience. But you will have to needle some much more than others to get there. I prefer Renner blues because I like to start with a slightly softer version so that the needling required is less. That being said, I will use Renners made for Hamburg Steinway on Steinways and Renners made for Boesendorfer on Boesendorfer. Some techs use a Dremel tool to preneedle the very hard Renner hammers because of this. David Love ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gevaert Pierre" <pierre.gevaert@belgacom.net> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: August 13, 2002 6:03 AM Subject: Re: voicing new hammers (prevoicing) Hi David, Could you elaborate your technique of prevoicing? I suppose this item has already been discussed often, but this is for me one of the most difficult things in our job. I am using currently Abel hammers and often have a tone that is to dull to my taste. (voicing: about 8 x deep needling in each shoulder and about 6 x undeep in the crown with three needles) As i am not an expert, is there a chance that i have already been needling to much with this technique or should i deepneedle more to get a fuller (but not less bright) tone? As i understand, a new (abel) hammer should always be needled? btw i use the method wich is explained in the Reblitz. Thanks for any suggestions. Pierre Gevaert Belgium ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos@earthlink.net> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 6:24 AM Subject: Re: voicing new hammers > The purpose of my post was to point out that there is a baseline for > preparing hammers that transcends taste. Perhaps that is sticking my neck > out in times where relativism seems to reign supreme, but I'm not afraid to > make a value judgment here. Beyond that baseline preparation there is still > a lot of room for individual taste. My overall opinion is that comes mostly > in the area of attack. > > When I said I could see no reason for leaving a Renner/Abel hammer > unresilient I am making a conjecture, in this case, that the person who said > to leave them alone was probably not responding to the lack of resilience of > the hammer (if it was unresilient, I don't really know what condition that > set of hammers was in), but the improvement over what had been on there > before. Since I prevoice those types of hammer before I put them on, it's > not an issue for me. All hammers of that type get some voicing. And all of > them benefit from creating more resilience. If the person were to insist > that they liked them with no further attention, I would probably still > suggest that I at least even them out. The problem often comes that the > individual doesn't play the piano at all levels when trying it out. They > might sit down and mezzopiano it through some little ditty and it sounds > just fine. But force it a bit, and the lack of attention creating the right > underlying texture rears its ugly head. If that situation were to arise > (and it has) I always try and educate through demonstration. So far, nobody > has asked me to leave those inconsistencies unattended. And I would not be > inclined to do it even if they said they could live with it. Unless they > were really insistent that they wanted it that way I would not feel that the > job was finished until I had addressed those finer points. I don't think > that doing so would change the overall character of the tone but it > certainly would refine it. > > If they hire me to do the job, they hire me, in part, for my expertise in > this area. I explain beforehand what I will do, the voicing that is > required as part of the job, and the follow up after a certain amount of > playing to go over it again. > > I am talking about replacing hammers above. When I encounter a piano for > the first time and I see the need for voicing, I will ask them how they feel > about the tone. I'm not pushy, but if I judge that it's a piano and player > interested in the potential of the instrument, I will give them an overall > assessment after tuning of the general condition. I am constantly surprised > at the number of people who never knew regulation and voicing was an option > with a piano. They just thought what they heard was what they got. That > kind of assessment combined with inquiries about their goals for the type of > instrument they want have led to a number of rebuilding jobs. I am > realistic and fair. If somebody has a Lester spinet (and I do have a couple > of people who not only have them, but love them), I would not try and talk > them into a rebuilding job. There are times when it's best to leave well > enough alone. > > David Love > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <Kdivad@AOL.COM> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: August 12, 2002 7:26 PM > Subject: Re: voicing new hammers > > > In a message dated Sun, 11 Aug 2002 9:39:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, > davidlovepianos@earthlink.net writes: > > > > > > > I don't know David, you kind of lost me on your point, and I think you > > missed mine on the MacDonald's this I never suggested the tech did > > something wrong by not voicing them. As I mentioned in an earlier post, > > it's their piano and they have to play it so make them happy. I have left > > hammers alone on many occasions when I thought attention was needed but > the > > customer said they liked it as it was. But think of it this way. You > take > > your car in because it's running like sh--. The mechanic changes the > points > > and plugs and let's you start it up. It runs a hell of a lot better than > it > > did before and you are thrilled. He says, "well do you want me to set the > > timing". You say, "hell no, it's running great now, why fu--, with it". > > Should he say okay and let you drive it out? Or should he try and explain > > the importance of setting the timing? Personally, I'd rather he just did > > what was considered a necessary part of the job. That is, unless he > didn't > > know how to set the timing. Then I guess I'd rather he left it alone but > > tell me about it so I could decide if I wanted to have someone else set > the > > timing. > > > > By the way, In 'n Out burgers are definitely better than MacDonalds, but > > then there's no accounting for taste. > > > > David Love > > > > > David, thanks for your reply, I am a little puzzled though because when > reading your original post I definitly got the impression that you thought > the technician did do something wrong. I believe you said that "you > couldn't see any reason for leaving a Renner/Abel hammer unresilient or a > Steinway hammer to soft." I believe one valid reason is that the customer > prefered the hammer just the way it sounded, unvoiced. Your example about > the mechanic also gave me the impression that you felt the tech did > something wrong by not voicing, even against the owners wishes. Let me use > your mechanic scenario, suppose an owner takes his car to you for a tune up. > You finish everything but setting the timing and he shows up. While his car > is sitting there idling a little rough he responds, "man that is just what I > am looking for, it sounds like I have a high performance cam in it!!" You > try to explain that the job is not done but he hears nothing. Should you > let him drive away? Of cours! > e you should (if the car is safe to drive). The most you can do is monitor > the situation down the road. > > OK, you got me with the burgers. > > David Koelzer > Vintage Pianos > DFW > > >
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