<font color='black' size='2' face='Comic Sans MS, sans-serif'>SO <font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">you continue to split hairs? Who said anything about pre-conceived opinions. Oh...it was you. I don't know how you do it but many professionals <br>  start by looking at how the manufacturer designed their action system. Every action rebuild in our shop starts with a key and action ratio analysis.   For example, setting sample regulation on a few notes,  a look at the key leads and weighing the original hammer weights on selected notes gives an important snapshot.  If not them there is no guiding light as to the range of hammer weight the maker intended and then we might as well just be guessing. & then  we're just guessing. SO how is that failing to look at the piano in front of you. <br>  "Good stuff" as you cynically mock me in terms of felt is  as Joe defined it,... was a sound that required neither extensive needling or much juice.  This along with appropriate pressing  defines a "good" or workable  hammer<br>    I don't really know you yet, but Frankly, you may be redefining contrarian. Give some one credit for having some experience other than yourself. <div> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> <div style="clear: both;"><b><font color="indigo" size="1"><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><font size="2">Dale S. Erwin<br> </font></font><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font size="1">www.Erwinspiano.com</font></font><br> <font size="1">Custom restoration<br> Ronsen Piano hammers<br> Join the Weickert felt Revolution<br> 209-577-8397</font></font><br> 209-985-0990</font><font size="1"><br> </font></b><br> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> <div style="font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: 10pt; color: black;">-----Original Message-----<br> From: Fred Sturm <fssturm@unm.edu><br> To: caut@ptg.org<br> Sent: Wed, Mar 2, 2011 7:54 pm<br> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Fwd: Steinway sound-Hammer weights<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_65fdb7bb-c3b9-4d88-b6dd-0bcfe016eb18"> <div> <div>On Mar 2, 2011, at 8:06 PM, Dale Erwin wrote:</div> <br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><font color="indigo" size="1"><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><font size="2">if too much historical broad brush strokes are applied it tends to keep us from looking<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><font size="3"><i><u>at the pianos in front of us</u></i></font><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and clouds how we make choices on how to best analyze its issues and which intelligent choice best serve the pianist and music as a whole.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></font></font></b></span></span></blockquote></div> <div><br> </div> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But if you start to look at the piano in front of you with a lot of pre-conceived opinions - that hammers need to be at least X weight, that ratios are "good" when they are in X parameters, that X density of felt is "the good stuff" - well, I think that you are failing to look at the piano in front of you. <div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"> <div style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium;"> <div style="word-wrap: break-word;"> <div>Regards,</div> <div>Fred Sturm</div> <div><a href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</a></div> <div>"A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch</div> </div> </span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div> </span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div> <br> </div> = </div>  </div> </font></font>