advice on action/hammers (continued)

[Farrell]

I echo the below. Make doubley sure the technician you use is real good with
action geometry analyses. Are you aware of Stanwood Touchweight systems? And
lastly, as eluded to in another post, hammers are part of that tone you are
looking for, but the soundboard system has much to do with it also. M&H
boards often do stand the test of time better than others. Your board is
still very old. Not many perform like new at that age. Keep that in mind
when you listen to your new hammers/action.

Per some new information I was exposed to last week, there is a general need
for a softer hammer (like in the Steinway) with a thinner soundboard (like
in the Steinway). Similarly, a heavy board tends to benefit from a bit
firmer hammer. I believe the old M&H boards are a bit thicker and stiffer
than a factory Steinway board. Perhaps your piano would benefit from a
hammer more firm than a Steinway hammer (yes, I know you can laquer). I am
not saying any of the above as fact. Just trying to stimulate thinking
regarding things you need to talk about with your technician.

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Love" <lovedg@hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: advice on action/hammers (continued)


> Following my first message re putting Steinway hammers on your MH.  There
> are many opinions and tastes in hammers, I still  think the Steinway
hammer,
> when prepared properly, gives the broadest tonal palette.  Re action
parts.
> The MH's you describe frequently have weight problems and must be analyzed
> thouroughly for proper action parts.  I am partial to Renner parts as I
find
> they are consistent in quality especially in the area of bushing cloth and
> leather.  I have not always found the same to be true of some other
> manufacturers.  Nevertheless, because of the possible weight problems I
have
> found that it is sometimes necessary to use a shank with a center pin to
> knuckle dimension that is not provided by Renner.  Specifically, sometimes
> an 18mm knuckle works better than the 17mm provided by Renner.  In that
> case, Abel makes a shank of that dimension.  The biggest problem with
those
> old MH actions is that often you have to compromise a longer knuckle
> dimension in order to remove excess lead from the keys and reduce inertia,
> in short, make the action feel more responsive.
>
> Good luck.
>
> David Love
> San Francisco
>