[CAUT] Steinway D 25lb felt from NY - Watchdogs needed

[David Stanwood]

Hi Bill,

I haven't seen these hammers... just the weight data.

Heard some talk about improved geometry for these new hammers but 
nothing specific.

I'm sure lots of weight could be shed if that's indicated or 
necessary for the sake of playability.  This would also brighten the 
tone.

David

>Interesting, David,
>
>When I was in NY in 2010, they had the first of these hammers 
>installed in a couple pianos there.  Conceptually, it seems S&S NY 
>was trying to achieve with their stock hammers the same thing we've 
>been seeing from Hamburg, Ronsen, and a few other manufacturers - a 
>higher density pressing, with more resilience and no need for ritual 
>application of lacquer.  At that time, they were planning on what 
>you now report, David - installation in all the D's to start, and 
>eventually using the same type of hammers for all models in NY. 
> That may change, but so far it looks like they are on task.  I 
>didn't anticipate there would be this kind of weight issue.
>
>Do you surmise that the hammers may reasonably be lightened to avoid 
>TW issues without ending up with a weak sounding piano, David?  Or 
>are the hammers just too dense?
>
>William R. Monroe
>
>
>
>On Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 7:26 AM, David Stanwood 
><<mailto:stanwood at tiac.net>stanwood at tiac.net> wrote:
>
>Dear All,
>
>In my consulting work providing Precision TouchDesign Specifications 
>to my agent group I receive a lot of hammer weight data on new 
>hammers and have been receiving such data for almost two decades.  I 
>have a pretty good handle on what's normal and expected from various 
>manufacturers.
>
>I just received a set of data for a set of new Steinway D hammers 
>that is worth sharing publicly because it falls on the edge of what 
>I would call normal.  The word I get is that Steinway NY has in 
>their pipeline a new design for their Steinway D hammers using 25lb 
>felt. The note from the factory that came with the hammers says:
>
>"Please be aware that these new Model D hammers are being delivered 
>with no lacquer solution or "juice" having been applied. Fabrication 
>improvements have significantly reduced the amount of reinforcing 
>solution that may be required. For this reason, please apply any 
>solution sparingly if tone building is required. If you have any 
>questions or concerns, please call parts department 1-800-366-1853"
>
>I spoke with the Steinway NY parts Dept. yesterday and they 
>confirmed that all D sets would be of this type from now on.  The 
>Hammer/Strike Weight level on this one set are higher than just 
>about anything I have ever seen in my experience.  They start out in 
>the low high zone at note 1 increasing to top high at note 40 then 
>top high or higher from notes 55 - 80 down to 1/2 high at 88.  This 
>set of hammers has been tapered normally.  The graph may be viewed 
>at:
>
><http://www.stanwoodpiano.com/D25LBSW1.pdf>http://www.stanwoodpiano.com/D25LBSW1.pdf
>
>I have had experience with hammers of this weight level.  There is a 
>Steinway D at Cincinnati Conservatory that I specified top high 
>hammer weights for and the sound is indeed BIG.  It's a powerhouse 
>piano for a big hall.  I've only specified a handful of others at 
>TopHigh for special needs.  I'm posting here as a warning of sorts. 
>Hammers of this weight level could create touch weight problems 
>without special attention given to the Touch Design Setup.  Also 
>tone issues.  Some sound boards can get overloaded with hammer 
>weight levels above 1/2 High Zone.  The piano will tell you.
>
>If any of you have received a set of these hammers and would like to 
>share your hammer weight data I'd be happy to produce graphs and 
>report back to the group.  Either ready to hang weights or strike 
>weights would be fine.  88 samples please.  With more data we can 
>get a truer picture of what is going on here.  Please send me your 
>data! Either raw data or in an excel sheet:
>
>Strike Weight and Hammer Weight excel sheets at:
>
><http://www.stanwoodpiano.com/E-SmartChart3.xls>http://www.stanwoodpiano.com/E-SmartChart3.xls
>
>David Stanwood
>
>"Just trying to help"