voicing new hammers

[Kdivad@AOL.COM]

In a message dated Sun, 11 Aug 2002 11:10:55 AM Eastern Standard Time, davidlovepianos@earthlink.net writes:

> 
> 
> I don't think I've ever heard a new hammer that couldn't be significantly
> improved by voicing.  Though tastes in tone may seem to vary, I think there
> are objective criteria in the performance of hammers.  The fundamental
> objective criteria is resilience.  Though it is difficult to quantify, it
> can clearly be heard.  New hammers of the Renner or Abel type tend to lack
> it and so benefit from shoulder needling at the least.  So reliable is this
> phase that it can be done prior to hammer installation.  The resilience can
> be felt by squeezing the shoulder of the hammer and can be heard in the
> openness of the tone.  Steinway hammers, on the other hand, lack resilience
> because they are too soft and some additional firmness/density/stiffness
> needs to be built into the felt to keep the hammer from mushing against the
> strings and killing the tone.  So reliable is this phase that you could
> almost prelacquer them prior to installation.  In fact, it makes filing them
> a bit easier.
> 
> Realistically I can't see any reason for leaving a Renner/Abel type hammer
> unresilient, or a Steinway type hammer too soft.  The result is that I
> always perform these operations with good and perceivable results.
> 
> Attack is another thing.  There is plenty of room for differences in taste
> along this spectrum and I always work with the customer to determine where
> they like it.
> 
> I think that it's very easy to talk yourself into thinking that a new set of
> hammers sounds fine when you first put them in.  There's a bit of psychology
> at work I think.  All of us want to be able to plug the action in and walk
> away.  I would love to have a set of hammers where the density and
> resilience was controllable in manufacturing from note 1-88 so that I didn't
> have to do anything but install them.  Unfortunately, it seems that the
> asymmetric consistency needed to produce optimum tone in a hammer combined
> with the inherent differences in even the highest quality felt (differences
> are much greater in lesser quality felt) puts this beyond the scope of the
> manufacturing process at present.   I think there are some manufacturers
> that are doing a better job of felt selection and processing than others.
> In spite of the fact that I do use Steinway hammers and like the sound that
> they produce, I think Renner does a better job in terms of consistency,
> especially with the Renner Blue.
> 
> As in anything, taste is learned, and sold.  If you only eat at MacDonalds,
> In n Out Burger seems like haute cuisine de bouef.
> 
> David Love

With all due respect David, whos taste are you talking about, yours or the customers.  Here in Texas, I'm afraid to say, I know many people who prefer Mcdonalds.  Taste is not changed just by exposure or sales technique, taste has to do with how you were brought up, where you live and what you are used to.  Taste also has to do with comfort.  There are many people out there who are comfortable where they are and are not interested in seeking different experiences, tastes or styles and even if they do they will always go back to what they are comfortable with.  We can try to gently persuade them and enlighten them, but the truth is we can't force them.  You and I may know what we are looking for in getting the most out of a hammer but the customer may not even be able to hear what we hear. The truth is you and I may not even be able to agree on what is the correct sound.
I think what bothers me most about this thread has been the innuendo that just because the customer loved the sound of the hammers as is and the tech didn't force them to let him voice them, he did something wrong. The truth is he tried to convince the customer to let him do some voicing and she refused, so wisely he dropped it, but he didn't drop the ball because he has followed up and the customer is still thrilled.  How could he have handled this situation better?



David Koelzer
Vintage Pianos
DFW