voicing Steinway L

[Michael Jorgensen]

Hi Lance,
  
Lance Lafargue wrote:
> 
> Michael,
> 1)Is Palida the stone-like material used to rub rust off with?
  
Yes, that's it.  Cleaning the rust should add a few micronewtons of tone
and brightness.

> 2)How deep is deep on the needling?  Where?  Can't I ruin the hammer 

Ed Foote did a good job of describing it.  It should go about all the
way to the wood.  You can also try entering the hammer at the 10 and
2:00 positions.  The idea is to release inner compression felt which
expands the hammer (in some cases you can actually see a hammer grow). 
This puts outer felt under more tension for a brighter tone and also
adds "spring" to the hammer.  The analogy I have seen given is that "a
hammer should be like a basketball with "give and spring" as opposed to
a hard baseball. A basketball when it strikes a gym floor makes a nice
loud resounding "Boom". A baseball makes an obnoxious and weaker sound" 
I'm not sure who came up with this, but I know there are several
excellent Journal articles over the last decade.  Check Authors like
Jack Krefting,  Airy (spelling) Issac, Bob Davis,  Matt Grossman etc on
voicing.  
     I have seen some people deep needle through the sides of the hammer
below and inside the shoulders. After this, you will need to relevel the
hammer.  Another technique is making a small nitch in the hammer head
moulding just above the shank equally on both sides. I have seen all of
these ideas both work and not work in increasing tone and sustain. Use
in moderation, as overdoing it will turn the hammer into a worthless
ball of fluff, but they may be each good for a few micronewtons of tone.
  Another thing to check is to compare the amount of felt above the
moulding on the weak notes to see if it is more than the brighter ones. 
Simply filing the hammer down will correct this.  Again don't go too far
as you'll end up with a small hammer that overcenters and doesn't check
high enough for good repetition (i.e a host of regulation problems and a
tone like a baseball) Been there-Done that!  Hardening is a better way
to go in that case.  Point here is that all these things can be useful
if done in moderation, and a few might only give you a nannonewton of
tone.
Good Luck
Mike Jorgensen RPT