<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Sep 13, 2007, at 11:31 AM, johnsond wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Anyone care to share your experiences with the new S&S Hammers from this summer?<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>They come with a note to us Technicians......</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">"Due to a process improvement in the manufacturing......<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>you may notice a slightly harder hammer.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>With this in mind we would suggest that you do not juice these hammers before testing in the piano.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Juicing these hammers before installation and pre-testing may result in a brighter than anticipated tone. "</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">OK- <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Actually the hammers looked good and shaped up just fine.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>I did not put one drop of lacquer or any other hardener on<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>these hammers except for<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>4 notes in the high treble.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>The piano has been back in service now for a couple months.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>They are bright indeed!!<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Just this morning the faculty pianist actually told me that now he "hates" this piano.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>I am trying keep him patient and working with them, but there is only so much needling I can do.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">So.... <SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Anyone else have a better experience?<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Maybe it's just this set-</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">thanks,</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dennis Johnson</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">St. Olaf College</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I was told that after they started pre-lacquering the hammers, they "honed" the process a bit before they settled on what they were after. I understand they now dip the entire set in a lacquer solution for a certain length of time (30 seconds?) and set them aside to dry. I'm sure that applying a one-size-fits-all process to a material that, by its nature, will be somewhat different from set to set will produce slightly different results. But that is better than sending out virgin hammers to technicians who each want to do it their individual way and then blame Steinway for bad hammers. At least they're taking technician error out of the equation to some extent.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>The set I installed this spring needed additional lacquer to please the professor, but I ordered them last year, probably not long after Steinway started pre-lacquering. I rather liked them like they were, except maybe the top few notes, but he insists on teaching and practicing with the lid down. I don't get that. You don't play the violin in its case do you? Why even bother playing a Steinway if you can't hear the dang thing? Anyway, I have another set in the cabinet I ordered earlier this year waiting for their new home, so we'll see.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> I can't take the piano out of service to wash them with thinner until maybe Christmas break. </BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>When I've gotten the juice a bit strong, I've had some success with soaking them overnight in thinner and replacing them the next morning before the piano was needed. I've also had good results with applying a few drops of acetone just to the strike point.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">The worst part is that it starts to make me look bad when the player is beginning to wish he had the old worn hammers back...... @#$! I'm sorry, but we are not paid enough to take that kind of responsibility for materials. </BLOCKQUOTE><BR><DIV>It's more that we aren't paid enough to live up to unrealistic expectations from faculty. They have to remember that the people who put hammers on in the factory do just that all day long. The other people who voice those hammers do just that all day long. The C&A technicians work only on pianos of their brand while we in the field have to develop knowledge for everything on the market. It just isn't a realistic expectation.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>We are general practitioners. We don't hang, file and voice 1000+ sets of hammers a year and we don't regulate 1000+ actions a year, and we don't install 1000+ soundboards or bridges or sets of dampers a year. We can't be expected to perform at the level factory installers and technicians perform at. We just can't possibly develop that level of expertise in every area of our craft.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Sometimes I think we need to learn to accept that reality ourselves, too.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Our pay isn't Steinway's fault. It's ours. We could have shown a bit of dignity on behalf of our profession and turned down these low salaries. But I think we get suckered into these F/T jobs by the benefits and then get stuck and can't do much about the salary after that. Then other institutions look at what we're getting paid and assume that's all a high end piano technician is worth and set their salaries accordingly.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jeff Tanner, RPT</DIV><DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>