words technical - S&S Hammers

[Jeff Tanner]

Are the Steinway hammers not still available undoped?  My predecessor told
me that when he ordered hammers, they gave him a choice of mellow, medium,
or bright prevoicing from the factory.  With no budget, I haven't ordered
any, so I don't know.  I must say though, I have seen a set of the new
hammers and they are beautifully shaped -- unlike previous offerings.  And
Kent Webb claimed that they are consistently so.

Another newby for S&S hammers is longer tails.  They've increased tail
length by 1/8", I believe it is, and checking is now possible at less than
1/2" - not that that is necessarily a desireable goal, but would certainly
come in handy after they've been filed a few times.

Regarding weight, I was at a November presentation by Eric Schandall, and
my recollection is that the new action geometry accepts heavier hammers
without increasing touchweight, which should produce fuller tone.
Obviously, if you aren't changing action parts, that could create a problem.

I've got 11 S&S Bs here at the school, manufacture dates ca 1993.  There
are amazing differences in hammer size and weight from piano to piano.  Our
piano chair has extremely small, light hammers on his busiest B, and it
creates a lot of problems with tone and regulation.  Next to it, the action
and tone are much better thanks to larger heavier hammers.  Naturally, the
students prefer the lighter action, and he prefers the one which offers
more resistance.

If the new hammers were on these pianos, it would be an improvement.

I seem to recall also that Kent and Eric both said that if you are not
satisfied with new Steinway parts, return them, no hassle, and they will
make them good.  They are also now getting orders out within 24 hours
(though the guarantee is 48), which is also a dramatic improvement over the
Steinway parts department of old.

My thoughts.
Jeff

Dale Irwin wrote:
>.  Hi Ed
>
>      The pre juicing of factory hammers is old news to be sure and its OK
>up the thin line one doesn't wish to crossover but it would be nice if
>more quality control were possible. I don't think it is. I'm working with
>a S&S D   and an L both with new boards etc. The D hammers were very
>heavy. 12.9 grams to start at note 1, note 40 about 9.5 to start. I have
>new set of keys in each with dialed in key leverages otherwise I'd be
>installing  shanks with 17 mm knuckles. The D hammers had some nice round
>sound note 1 thru 52 then they got more wooly then the last octave was
>really dull. Top octave and half got a total 3 to 1 saturation of lacquer.
>they sound fine.  Everything got a soaking. The low bass monos got 3 to 1,
>bichords 6 to 1 , Tenor about 6 to 1. Ist capo 3 to one. I've got enough
>punch and noise to needle back som! e The top three hammers I just dunked
>in a 1 to 1 solution. Now they sound fine as well.
>       It's obvious that the hammers are fairly well juiced out of the box
>which can be determined by sticking a needle here and there.  I think the
>answer to your question about voicing stability is usage. How much, how
>hard. Acoustics ,desires. Ed  I  know you've been round this track before.
>   I think the answer for me would be to bore three hammers when they come
>in. Note 16, 40 and 64. This is probably all we need to know. Listen to
>them. Hey if there over juiced Plug the holes send them go back. Why
>should we pay for defective products. Yes I consider that defective
>especially at 400 bucks a pop.
>   The L hammers  were no problem. Reasonable amounts of lacquer. When
>there right they're really good and when there bad well....
>        Best---Dale Erwin
>
>
>
>  The STeinway hammers are now arriving from the factory pre-doped.  I have
> had two sets in the last month and they were not at all the same!  The
>first,
> for a model A, were large enough to put on a D, and they were already
> crystal-bright, <sigh>  The customer was having me replace the hammers
> because they were too brassy, so I ended up needling the heck out of a new
> set of hammers.  They felt like sugar cubes.  Since I do my own boring,
>there
> was no way to really tell what they sounded like before crossing the
> drill-press Rubicon.
>   The next set was soft, but I think they will play-in very nicely, (though
> I do need to help the low bass out a little, sniff-sniff).  
>   So, my question is this.  In a heavy use setting, like on the school
> stages,  how long does a new set of these things last before becoming
> difficult to keep a round sound?  Has anybody "rinsed" a new set with
>acetone
> or something to take some of the sting out before the accupuncture? 
>   My normal doping of new Steinway hammers used to begin with a side
> application of 6:1 that was heavy enough to just reach the core right about
> at the tip of the molding.  Then I could listen and add more a little
>farther
> up the shoulder to get what I wanted. This left me with a small wedge of
> unlacquered felt under the strike point that would, with about 20 hours of
> playing, really give me a broad range of tone, from a defined mellowness at
> pp to an orchestral crash at full FFF. Not only that, but I could keep it
> that way through several filings and reshaping!  I fear that with the new
> procedure up there in New York, which I understand to be soaking the entire
> hammer set with 4:1 before shipping,  this malleability and control will be
> lost.
>   Anybody have a set that is aging and can tell me where these new ones go? 
>
> Thanks,
> Ed Foote RPT
>
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