PLIER VOICING - SURVEY

[Peter KESTENS]

't MUZIEKINSTRUMENTENATELIER
PETER KESTENS
BELGIUM
KESTENS.P@DEBCOM.BE
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: BSimon1234@aol.com <BSimon1234@aol.com>
Aan: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Datum: vrijdag 28 november 1997 0:22
Onderwerp: PLIER VOICING - SURVEY


>I have been reading all the posts about wetting hammers, steaming hammers,
> stabbbing them with needles, washing plastics and lacquers in and out of
>them, ironing them, etc. I am beginning to feel pity for the poor little
>things.
>
>Let's have it!   Who out there has had good or bad experiences with plier
>voicing!  Are there any strong prejudices about the way one massages wool
>fibers in hard hammers?
>
>IMHO - Two minutes of plier voicing,  which uses gas burner pliers or small
>Vice Grip pliers to squeeze the shoulder areas of hammers that is normally
>needled in voicing, can make a huge improvement in tone, especially to
Jesse
>French spinets, Winter spinets,  and 1910 big old uprights with rock hard
>hammers. I use the technique on perhaps 4 or 5 pianos a year and never
charge
>for it because an entire set of hammers can be treated in less than three
>minutes.  I am not suggesting that one go regulate a Steinway concert grand
>this way, -- but WHY NOT? - It is/was a technique very heavily used decades
>ago but has become unfashionable now.  I would love to hear technical
reasons
>for its demise!
>
>I KNOW that one is supposed to sell a new set of imported hammers and a
>$200.00 voicing job on these PSO's, but that is unrealistic.  By the way,
> the plier voicing holds for about 6 months to a year.
>
>(Putting on my flame retarding suit)
>Bill Simon
>Phoenix

Can you please tell me what plier voicing just means?  I want to treat my
hammers and thus follow the discussion of treating hammers with
water/alcohol, steaming with much attention.
Peter