Boston Hammer Voicing

[Roger Jolly]

Hi Terry,
              They are Kawai hammers, and respond well to both steam and
traditional techniques.
In Arlington, the class was given on a new Yamaha C3.  The partial set of
hammers that I was working with was 25yr old Yamaha hammers.  I recieved a
number of comments of how close the new and the old hammers matched.  When
you consider the old hammers had been reshaped so many times, even I was a
little suprised.
Talking with Bill Brandom and Mark Wisner, They have looked after more than
a few warranty claims after a tech has steamed hammers to death, and
therefore they are cautious about recommending the process.
Note the title of the class  CONTROLLABLE steam voicing.
The process was developed, because I felt the steam kettle approach lacked
control, and was completely unpredictable.
Now you have some experience, use your own good judgement.
Regards Roger



At 07:33 AM 07/08/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Does anyone know what type of hammers would be on a 7 year old Boston GP-178
>(5' 10" grand)? Asian/Yamaha type? I wish to soften a set a bit for a more
>mellow/less bright sound. I like and often use the Roger J. steaming method,
>but so many recent posts warn against steaming Yamaha hammers. I wonder if
>this concern would apply to Boston hammers. Any thoughts?
>
>Terry Farrell
>Piano Tuning & Service
>Tampa, Florida
>mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
> 
Roger Jolly
Saskatoon, Canada.
306-665-0213
Fax 652-0505