Good suggestion, Brent.
Actually, if I remember the story Richard West told me about this piano,
is that it was originally from Texas, but I might have this just right.
Richard, are you out there?
I'll check those issue Monday morning. I would do it right now, but
"double reed" day is going on in there....
Of course, my can of worms will get much larger if this is a problem as
well!
Thanks
Paul
From:
Brent Fischer <brent.fischer at yahoo.com>
To:
caut at ptg.org
Date:
02/12/2011 10:13 AM
Subject:
Re: [CAUT] NY hammers/ Hamberg hammers
Hi,
You should read Overs comments on plates on his website. Also, if this
was
built during the Wickham / Kelly transition you might have bass spec
issues as
well as v-bar problems but it could be more symptomatic of bridge roll or
loss of crown. There isn't much wiggle room over the years for the health
of a force-crowned board and I witnessed a few Steinways in Texas that
came out of the box with reversed crown, so why don't you measure it as
well as the front to back bridge bearing so the discussion has a baseline.
Brent
--- On Fri, 2/11/11, Paul T Williams <pwilliams4 at unlnotes.unl.edu> wrote:
Subject: Re: [CAUT] NY hammers/ Hamberg hammers
To: caut at ptg.org
Date: Friday, February 11, 2011, 2:04 PM
On my exit for today, Brent,
This is a problem with this piano.
It was supposidly a C&A piano from Texas (Ask Richard West on the history
of this piano). It was chosen by the piano faculty and they loved it. It
has a strange history on why its' here, btw.
Richard told me the plate was a bit misconfigured and the plate in the
bass is a bit too high. This is indeed what I found when regulating the
action. I have to be careful when putting the action in and out to watch
for the bass hammers as they're a bit too high.
New Question: How much affect is this on voicing and tone? Or just action
problems, that I've overcome????
More best.
Now I'm getting really thirsty for that pint!!
Paul
From:
Brent Fischer <brent.fischer at yahoo.com>
To:
caut at ptg.org
Date:
02/11/2011 02:56 PM
Subject:
Re: [CAUT] NY hammers/ Hamberg hammers
Hi Kevin,
It's impossible to extrapolate the root cause of Mr. William's hammer
problem without a structural analysis. Must remember that these
forced-crowned boards don't last more than fifteen years for C at A
applications. Ten millimeters of crown out of the piano, five at clamping
pressure, and 2.5 strung up. I'd wonder if it was crowned in July or
December?
The factory isn't exactly tight and it matters. What about the plate?
Read what
Overs has to say about sand cast specifications. As far as Hamburg
hammers, you will fight serious weight issues in the bass, although NY
gets it really close now, Hamburg doesn't screw up geometry ever, as far
as I know, and they're gonna be heavier. In addition, their bass strings
have different specs than NY, the ribs are crowned, and their treble
hammers
have a serious lack of under-felt but seem to sound pretty good with that
board.
Solution, if it isn't structural just get another NY set and stay with NY
so your reputation can never be second guessed by a Steinway processed
artist.
Brent
--- On Fri, 2/11/11, Fortenberry, Kevin <kevin.fortenberry at ttu.edu> wrote:
From: Fortenberry, Kevin <kevin.fortenberry at ttu.edu>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] NY hammers/ Hamberg hammers
To: "caut at ptg.org" <caut at ptg.org>
Date: Friday, February 11, 2011, 11:04 AM
Paul, not only do I feel your pain, but the timing of this discussion is
rather good. I am faced with this very decision on several pianos. I am,
like you, interested in experimenting with the NY hammers, but we are
facing budget cuts/time deadlines, etc. I really wish it were possible to
just order the Hamburg hammers. I have heard from several sources that
they are fabulous! I spoke with another technician friend at a rather
large University and he says that it IS possible to order them, but even
he admitted it is hard to do. (Anyone have any idea on this? Kent?) He
says they are a denser felt than the Renner Blues, but do behave and voice
very similarly to the blues. Almost every piano here at Texas Tech (except
the few newer pianos we have) has Renner Blues (all 3 of our D-s included)
which are great, but of course are fairly high maintenance and just do not
seem to last all that long. I love the idea of the Hamburgs since they
are "Steinway Hammers" which satisfies those who want to stick with
Steinway parts, and those of us with limited time, and very limited $$$
don't have to experiment endless hours with lacquer/lacquer thinner fumes,
paint masks that do not allow lacquer fumes to be breathed right into the
lungs, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, I love our Steinways! I am gun-ho
about Steinways--probably to a fault, but someone please tell why we
cannot just pick up the phone and order Hamberg hammers! In the meantime,
I will see what you discover with these hammers, try some experimenting
(thanks Fred for all the help with this!), and maybe try those Abel
Naturals everyone keeps raving when possible. I have also heard the new
Steinway shaped hammers from Renner are challenging to voice--but I have
only talked to one rebuilder who had to file deeply to get any real tone.
This could be wrong--are these anything like the Hamgergs, also made my
Renner??
Best to all, Kevin Fortenberry
-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
caut-request at ptg.org
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 9:51 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: CAUT Digest, Vol 28, Issue 30
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Bum set of NY hammers, I'm afraid (Fred Sturm)
2. Re: Bum set of NY hammers, I'm afraid (David Love)
This set is lackluster from the bottom to the top. Perhaps they sent me a
non-prelacquered set. I kept the old hammers and shanks, so I might
switch
them out, bring the new set to the shop and soak the crap out them with a
4:1 mix. I guess I have nothing to lose and education to gain from this.
This is my first set of NY Hammers. I've been using Wallys Naturals for
years. Maybe I shouldn't have messed around in a new world. I would have
put on another set of Abels, but the piano dept head insisted on Steinway
hammers as he's a "Steinway Concert Artist". I perhaps shouldn't have
said
anything, eh? and just used what I know how to use.
What's to expect from Hamburg hammers? Never used those either.
Keep em coming. Thanks guys!
Paul
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