Mason and Hamlin questions

[Ron Nossaman]

Hi Deb,
Good advice so far, especially that about needing a good local tech with
which to discuss the details.


>2) Lacquering hammers for a new rebuild?  Well, different people have
>different ideas of what lacquering means, and there are a variety of
>techniques to using that lacquer.  I haven't used a set of Isaac hammers so
>I don't have a lot to say about them.  I would however wonder about how well
>the piano was built / rebuilt if there was the need to "juice" a
>hard-to-begin-with hammer.  A well designed / well (re)built piano doesn't
>typically need the lacquering that many people use to try to cover up
>defects in construction of some lesser pianos.

Deb and Brian,
Isaac hammers aren't a hard-to-begin-with hammer. They are nice resilient,
cold pressed, non-granite hammers more suited to producing a broad,
controllable dynamic range than "break the windows across the street"
volume. If I wanted a harder hammer sound, I'd hang a set of harder hammers
in the first place rather than juice a full set of Isaacs. A nice hammer is
a terrible thing to waste. The rebuilder should have some idea how the
finished piano will sound before starting, and build in that direction from
the beginning. You never really know exactly what you'll end up with, but
you can decide what you'd like to have, within the physical limitations of
the piano, and take the factors you have some control of in that direction.


Ron N