<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1528" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The latest generation of "genuine Steinway" hammers is being "prelacquered" by dipping them as a set. They are alittle harder than some of us would like and have a pretty good bang to begin with. Some experimention will be necessary and if you have a client with a small room and mellow tastes you may have to look elsewhere. But I should say in general Steinway parts have improved and continue to improve thanks by and large to Kent Webb's dedication. And of course he is receptive to new ideas and someone most of us feel comfortable talking to. Well anyway that is beyond the subject. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Solliday </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>