Voicing problems

[Piannaman@aol.com]

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Andre,

Greetings from not-so-sunny California! =20

Thank you for your very articulate post on voicing related issues.  There ar=
e=20
many voicing problems that can surface for technicians in almost any piano=20
regardless of price or pedigree.  You have obviously thought long and hard a=
bout=20
this, and have years of experience behind you to base your opinions on.

I am going to save this in my pocket PC to share with certain really finicky=
=20
customers.

Thanks again,

Dave Stahl

In a message dated 2/19/04 2:40:41 PM Pacific Standard Time,=20
antares@euronet.nl writes:


> Hello Mr. St=E9phane Hanriat,
>=20
> This could be a very tricky situation, depending on the skills of your=20
> technician.
>=20
> Deep needling in the higher section of the shoulders can be helped with=20
> 'banging' the hammers against a cheek block or voicing block, which=20
> then may hardens/stiffen the crown area.
> You could compare this with playing rather loud for some time, which=20
> always makes the the hammers louder, but in a natural way.
> If these are mellow hammers to begin with, you may be in trouble.
> Power can be restored (maybe) by making a very good concert regulation,=20
> followed by 'battery voicing'.
> If the cushion section however has been made too weak, a hammer=20
> replacement is inevitable, and  a very expensive option.
> Of course the best hammers for this kind of instrument are a=20
> replacement of the original Kawai hammers.
> It is very well possible that the section you described (octave 5 to 6)=20
> is a problem area in your grand piano.
> Voicing is considered the most difficult issue in the piano industry.
> A technician, employed by a piano factory, usually has earned this=20
> honorable position after having proved to be a trusted and experienced=20
> professional over a long time.
> From my own experience as a concert technician, I know however that it=20
> is at the same time very well possible for any very gifted/talented=20
> technician to get into a hazardous situation where he/she has to fight=20
> with voicing problems, caused by the instrument.
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> Not one instrument in this world is 100 % perfect, and when a pianist=20
> points out a specific irregularity we assume that a real pro will solve=20
> it.
> This is not always the case as the 'irregularity' may be caused by=20
> technical problems, the technician can not solve.
> We as technicians, and especially voicing technicians, are,=20
> unfortunately, often confronted with technical problems we can not=20
> really solve.
> If we, as voicing techs, can not solve a real structural problem=20
> (caused for instance by the sound board or another basic piano=20
> structure), we will try to mask it by taking away energy, so that the=20
> problem will not bother the pianist.
> Some problems are huge and others are not, and some pianists can live=20
> with a 'certain irregularity' but others go crazy about it.
> A truly gifted and experienced technician can usually solve both the=20
> problem of the instrument and thereby the problem of the pianist.
> There are however situations where the instrument, and especially a=20
> brand new instrument, kind of disappoints the pianist after it has been=20
> brought into his/her house, or studio.
> We are very familiar with this and try whatever we can to please the=20
> pianist, and at the same time try to prevent a possible escalation of=20
> this difficult situation.
> Usually it does not come this far, but sometimes serious action is=20
> inevitable.
> A hammer change is a serious action and can solve the problem.
> On the other hand, if your instrument has a serious problem in the=20
> octave you described, the problem will come back, even with new=20
> hammers.
>=20
> I am a voicing technician and I am strongly opposed to adding hammer=20
> dope/hardener in the hammer area you described.
> It will certainly stiffen the wool fibers and harden the sound, but=20
> this does not automatically mean that the hammers have then been=20
> brought back to normal' because the character of the doped hammers is=20
> definitely and irreversibly different.
> Filing these hammers also is an unhealthy thing to do because taking=20
> off felt again changes the nature and character of the hammers and=20
> changes the weight, because taking off just 1 gram off the hammer=20
> reduces the key weight by approximately 5 grams (!)
> Wool fibers that have been filed away, will never come back.
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> In order to solve this problem you must first have absolute confidence=20
> in your technician, and ensure yourself of total dedication by the=20
> firm/business where you bought your instrument.



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