Strike weight and tone: Ideal curve

[David Stanwood]

Dear David,

Thank you so much for your discussion relative to strike weight zones..

The Strike Weight Zone delineators that I published in the Journal are for a 
frame of reference only.  They show an average of what your likely to find 
in any particular modern grand piano.  You may like a curve going from high 
full zone tapering down to mid medium zone...
Steinway NY might prefer a mid medium zone in the bass tapering down to high 
zone in the treble.  The zones are based on the measurements of many 
thousands of strike weights taken by many techs over many years. It 
represents an average of the modern piano. (Last hundred Years).

With my group of Precision Touch Design installers we've had many fine 
examples of top/high zone strike weights OR ABOVE - as in out of the normal 
zone... on Steinway D's that have a splendid tone.  We decided on these 
levels on an individual basis using experimentation to determine the best 
level.  Other times such high strike weights were not found to be ideal.

I support your opinion that high zone strike weights are better generally in 
the bass.  I feel that a huge tone potential is lost when medium or even low 
high zone strike weights are used in the bass.  Increasing bass hammer 
weight has been found to create an enormous improvement to tone, like adding 
feet to the piano.

For Treble it is more dependent on the hardness and resiliency of the hammer 
and the condition of the piano.....

In all cases based on my collective experience with many many techs feeding 
me quantitative and qualitative information, my personal recommendation is 
not to use any strike weight below mid medium in any range…

My personal preference is for high zone strike weights in all cases 
especially uprights..

Here is an interesting historical context from "Pianos and their Makers" by 
Alfred Dolge:

"As far back as 1873 the Author made, in his factories in Dolgeville, NY, 
for Steinway & Sons, hammer felt 1.75" thick in the bass and weighing 22 
pounds to the sheet which measured 36" wide and 43" long.  This 
extraordinary thick felt was used for concert grand piano hammers, and 
although splendid results were achieved, the heavy hammer affected the touch 
too much.  It is now generally agreed that felt weighing 17-18 pounds to a 
sheet is sufficiently heavy for grand hammers, and 13-14 pounds is the usual 
weight of felt used for upright hammers."

David C. Stanwood

>From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos@hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>CC: stanwood@tiac.net
>Subject: Strike weight and tone:  Ideal curve
>Date: Tue, 01 May 2001 04:52:31 -0000
>
>This is a continuation from my previous post.
>
>Without having done a thorough study, but based on my experience and taste,
>I am inclined to think that were one to graph the ideal strike weight curve
>with relation to tone production that the curve would be somewhat steeper
>than the is represented by David Stanwood's full/medium/low designations.  
>I
>find that the bass (depending on the piano, of course, but all things being
>equal) wants a fuller SW and that the treble wants a lower SW.  Thus, if 
>one
>were to graph this line, it would tend to be a steeper curve.  I have never
>found any advantage in the very top of the piano being in the full SW zone.
>Despite the energy that may be produced by a fuller strike weight in the
>upper area of the piano, I'm not sure that more enery results in better
>tone, or even more projection.
>
>Which brings up a problem often encountered with Steinway hammers (which I
>still use).  The natural curve of these hammers tends to be very flat.  
>That
>is, the relative difference between the bass and treble hammers is small.
>Uniform tapering usually results in the bass hammers being too light and 
>the
>treble hammers being too heavy (I am talking only about tone production
>qualities).  I am recently more inclined to graduate my tapering so that 
>the
>bass hammers remain (in Stanwood terms) in the full to medium zone while 
>the
>treble hammers are taken farther down to the low zone.  Additionally, in 
>the
>treble I have begun to pull the staple and trim the lower part of the 
>hammer
>felt down to the tenor break (50-52), not simply for weight control but for
>tonal purposes.  To me, it seems to sound better this way.
>
>I am curious about anyone else's experience/opinion in this area.
>
>
>David Love
>
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