Voicing a U-1

[Joseph Garrett]

I have heard from some that an alcohol/water solution applied to the
shoulders of the hammer will loosen the fibers of the hammer and bring the
tone down.  Has anyone had any success with this technique?  Are there
other ways of really taking the brightness out of the hammer that is more
permanent than needling?

Any ideas, suggestions, and comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Corte Swearingen
Associate PTG Member

Corte,
I use two methods: 1: Denatured Alcohol and Distilled Water. I SATURATE  the
hammers, with the exception of the top 5 or 6 hammers, (this depends on what
the initial sound of them is.). The one drawback to this method is that it
tends to distort the shape of the hammer, (front to back view will be narrow
at the top of the hammer!). As long as you don't have a WIDE string
grouping, this is not a problem, to me.
2. Linen or Cotton cloth and Hammer Iron. I wet the cloth, lay it on the
hammer and iron away. I've found this to be my first choice, of late. It
does about the same thing as the alcohol & water, but is less dramatic in
it's effect. In other words, it's more controlable. This method will, also,
distort the hammer as the alcohol and water does, but less so. OH! An
important thing: I have installed a Rheostat, inline, on my hammer iron, so
that I don't overdo the heat! Remember, we are ironing WOOL!<G>
I hope this helps. Anything to bring down the "ball-peen hammers" is worth
the effort. Once the initial "softening" is done, then smoothing out the
tone is done with needles.
Best Regards,
Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)

Been There, Didn't Like It, So I'm Here To Stay! [G}