lance writes: > I will be prepping and maintaining a Steinway D next week >for a week-long competition with recitals,etc. Very good players, >often-times Van Cliburn contestants/winners (12). The hammers have been filed >many times, running out of felt with some areas weak, lots of nasty >twang/buzz. These hammers have been worked on and stabbed by several techs, so >The Question: What are some of the common (if any) remedies needed on >older hammers in this situation. Do you sometimes have to harden again after >much needling, (weak areas) do specific needling, (noise) after this much use? >Are there common procedures followed to extend the usefulness and increase >the quality of tone in these older hammers? Greetings, As Newton says, CYA! I agree with Dennis, too. First, make sure those that will judge you understand that this is a compromise situtation you are being thrust into, perfection will not be an option. (in other words, make sure you are not getting set up to appear incompetant because the piano displeases performers.....) If the hammers are able to be shaped to somewhat near a normal Steinway shape, it is often surprising how close you can come to a decent sound with lacquer, indeed, some of the new pianos from that factory have hammers that are near soaked to begin with! You may find that the weak areas need a healthy dose of 4:1, then after a couple of days a bit of accupucture will allow you to find some tonal range. Resign yourself to ruining the hammers completely by the time this is over, ie, you may need to constantly "sugar coat" overly hard hammers to get them through. Normally, if you can at least get the piano even, too bright is better than too soft for most artists. Good luck, Ed Foote RPT
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