To Voice or Not to Voice? [was Re: Baldwin hammers]

[David Love]

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Depends on the situation.  If I am installing new hammers and no opinion =
is expressed, I will bring them to the level I think is best.  I might =
ask if they have a preference for brighter, less bright, mellow, etc..  =
But the fundamental development of the hammer won't change.

If I walk in on a piano and percieve it as needing voicing I will always =
talk to them about it first (unless it's just a bit of through the =
string touch up).   Sometimes their first response will be that they =
like it as it is and I might leave it alone.   Other times they have =
said they like it as it is only because they are unware of how much =
better it can be. =20

The bottom line is that they decide.  They have to play it.  But you can =
open their ears to tonal possibilities.  There have been times when I =
have come to a piano and spent some time voicing it and they have =
commented afterward that they never knew it could sound like that and =
why didn't the last guy tell them about voicing.   I've also come to =
pianos that I thought were horrendously bright but after talking to the =
player it turned out they really did like it that way, so, of course, I =
left it.

Just communicate and it really shouldn't be a problem.

David Love



----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Z! Reinhardt=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: August 10, 2002 9:46 AM
  Subject: To Voice or Not to Voice? [was Re: Baldwin hammers]


  Ooooh, this could be a juicy topic!

  Hi Everyone!

  Who is to decide what the "optimal" tone is for a given piano?

  It's a common occurrence -- the customer doesn't want the voicing =
touched or tampered with in any way and we're driven crazy by the =
possibilities in the name of optimal tone.  So ... how does one go about =
enlightening the customer on this matter without intimidating them, =
leaving them with the impression that there is something fundamentally =
wrong with their piano or that the work we did (such as replacing the =
hammers) was somehow substandard?

  Z! Reinhardt  RPT
  Ann Arbor  MI
  diskladame@provide.net

    ----- Original Message -----=20
    From: Erwinspiano@AOL.COM=20
    To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
    Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 10:36 AM
    Subject: Re: Baldwin hammers


                  Hi  Ray=20


               I say this with all due respect. While I'm aware this =
happens and I guess the customers is always right since as it is there =
piano, but that doesnt' mean the piano was producing  its optimal tone. =
It may mean that the raw hammer was producing a better sound than what =
wa  heard before and had they trusted your judgement a bit firther they =
would have had something perhaps even more thrilling. I wonder if the =
treble is by now producing the sounds of shattering glass or perhaps if =
you got a softer set of renners as I did years ago. These are quality =
hammers but the ones I've seen in recent years always needed  voicing =
especially in the money notes(5 and 6 octaves)
        Do you know if the client is still ecstatic?
              Best-----Dale



      I replaced the hammers on a similar Baldwin a couple of years ago =
with Renner.  The client was ecstatic with the results, and wanted no =
further voicing at all!


      Ray T. Bentley, RPT
      Registered Piano Tuner-Technician
      Alton, IL
      ray@bentley.net
      www.ray.bentley.net






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