advice on action/hammers

[Larry E McFatter]

I'm not a technician but a performing pianist who is very interested in
great piano sound. I'm facing a decision about my own piano for which I
need the advice of professionals who make these decisions on a regular
basis. Eighteen months ago I bought from a rebuilder/restorer a Mason &
Hamlin A made about 1918 that is used as my practice piano at home. At the
time of purchase everything had been restored/refinished (new pin block,
pins, shimmed and refinished soundboard, dampers, new strings, case
refinished, etc.) except the action and hammers which are the original
ones. The piano had apparently not been played much in its previous life and,
since the action and hammers were still in acceptable condition, the
decision was made not to rebuild/replace them yet. I've given the piano a
workout and listened to it very closely since its purchase. I'm now
satisfied that the restoration work that has been done to date has been
good and that the piano has inherently a fine, broad tonal spectrum, but
the tone is being compromised by the old hammers and action. So I'm asking
for your advice on which action and hammer combination (i.e. Renner action
+ Abel hammers, a Japanese action + Renner hammers, etc.) you believe will
give me the tonal results that I want to achieve and superb control, even
at very soft dynamics. Because the piano is used in my home I need somewhat
different tonal characteristics than I might need for a piano in a recital
hall or playing with an orchestra. I'm very concerned to avoid that
shallow, over-bright, strident tone that tends to plague the asian pianos
(especially) after only a few years of regular use. It's been suggested to
me that I avoid high tension hammers in favor of ones that may initially
sound a bit mushy but will age more gracefully. True? Here's what I want:

1. a dark, rich tone at soft dynamics (like dark chocolate?);
2. a warm, round tone at medium dynamics (milk chocolate?);
3. an edge of bell-like brightness (but not over-bright or strident) at loud
dynamics (milk chocolate swirled with tart raspberry?).

Any thoughts? (about the piano, I mean; I already have plenty of chocolate).

Larry McFatter
Music Department
California State University, San Bernardino
mcfatter@csusb.edu