Greetings,
I wrote:
> This may be good or bad, depending on how you juice.
Roger writes:
>Now would that be, pour, pour, pour,...
No, actually that is the factory method. I use an eyedropper.
We recently purchased 6 new Steinway grands at the Blair School of Music.
As delivered, the pianos sounded like there were marshmallows for hammers
and the faculty screamed! I held them all back, saying we needed to give the
hammers a chance to break in and the tone to come up. (the absolutely
deplorable state of regulation these pianos were in when delivered didn't
help, either).
After two semesters, only one of the instructors was satisfied with the
tone, so the other five got my treatment. The pianos are now sounding much
better, and this is what I did.
The first stage with the Steinway hammer is to firm the shoulders, so I
put approx. 6 drops on each side of the hammer at the low shoulder,(at 3:00
and 9:00, where the "reinforcment" usually stops. ) I then let this sit for
at least 24 hours.
In the second stage, the first thing I do is listen, particularly to the
spectrum at FF. The tone at pianissimo rarely changes by this first doping,
but the heavier blows will demonstrate some brilliance beginning to appear.
Those hammers that don't at least hint at some tone on heavy play get another
5 drops on the shoulders and then I wait again.
Once I know that there is a half-moon of hardened felt out there at the
shoulders, I add another five drops to each shoulder slightly above the first
application, near 10 and 2:00. My experience indicates that the first area
doped keeps this second treatment farther up in the hammer. It seems that
the solution used in the second application can't really penetrate the area
that was first doped, so it tends to go farther into the hammer and also goes
more up toward the crown than down. I try to make sure that the hammer's
region near the tip of the corewood can see some of this second doping, while
leaving a wedge of undoped felt directly under the strike point.
If there is more brightening to be done on the third listening, it
usually requires no more than a two or three drops at about 10 and 2:00
again.
Once all this is completed, I have a hammer that breaks in nicely, and in
the future, I can voice them down with needles directly in from the top. I
find that when I am finished,and the hammers have been used for 15 hours or
so, I have a nice mellow pianissimo,(remember, the felt on the very top is
still un-hardened) but as soon as additional force is applied, the tone
begins to change. This is the essence of creating a "voice" for that
particular hammer. What does this voice do? It provides the pianist with
control over the tone, (to go with the colors of the temperament, but THAT is
a digression)
When the note is played softly, I want the tonal output to resemble the
distant French horn, (played out by the lake in the gazebo as the sun sets
and the swans gently paddle near the shore). As more force is applied, the
balance of the spectra shifts upward, and additional partials begin to show
themselves, giving more brilliance. At the maximum level of play, the hammer
should reach the point of tone breaking up, but not go past it. What I am
looking for is the palette. Some pianists prefer the brilliance to be there
at the beginning, so I shoot the swans and dope on top, but not often.
The factory doesn't take this amount of time, and when I was there, I saw
them saturate the hammer to begin with, and then try to work backwards with
the needles. This makes a fine sound, but it is not very durable,(imho). I
have to live with these pianos,so I want to set them up for longevity as well
as tone.
When a pianist finds that melodic lines can be brought out with just a
little extra volume,(the more brilliant sound can be readily heard over the
harmony), the first impression is one of great control. They like this, and
are glad to give me money.
I only pour on Music Row.
Regards,
Ed Foote RPT
>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC