Hello, Since we are talking about voicing techniques, has anybody had much success with that little upright voicing tool that Yamaha sells? This thing is essentially a small L-shaped bracket that hold three needles. Considering the size of this tool, it implies that you can voice an upright piano without removing the action. I've tried using the tool and I find it way too hard to slowly push the needles into the Yamaha hammers. I've given up trying to use it but I have to assume it works well for some people. Corte Swearingen Chicago "Barbara Richmond" To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> <piano57@flash.ne cc: t> Subject: Re: ?? Voice ?? Sent by: pianotech-bounces @ptg.org 05/07/2004 07:44 AM Please respond to Pianotech ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Brekne" <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Friday, May 07, 2004 4:48 AM Subject: Re: ?? Voice ?? > Barbara Richmond wrote: > > >Joe, > > > >Ok, I'll be brave. Pliers (vise grips) were sort of popular some years > >back, but it seems they are politically incorrect these days. I learned to > >use them to soften up really hard shoulders (not lacquered ones!) to make > >needling possible where sustain was lacking. Using vise-grips would cause > >cupping on the shoulder and then next, one would needle enough to remove the > >cupping. Worked great to open up the sound on certain pianos. I won't > >mention any names, but I learned it from factory tech reps--so somebody > >thought it was OK back then. ;-) Aw heck, things go in and out of > >fashion, except perhaps for orange shag carpeting and flocked wallpaper. > > > > > > > I think we are talking about two different levels of voicing here. You > have your <<standard do what it takes to make a so and so piano > useable>> type of job... and you have your <<critical concert top level > for the most discerning of pianists>> type of situation. Well, you may be talking about two different levels of voicing here, I was just talking about Joe's question about the use of pliers (and in this case, using pliers reduced the incidence of broken needles). Of course different methods are used in different situations--that's why we have so many tricks in our bags. Heck, I've only been in the business since 1982 [so I'm just a babe :-) ], but my experience has proven to me that there isn't a one-method-that-fits-all. In my world a great deal of voicing gets done besides that on the concert stage or recording studio. > For the later we are not just talking about getting them soft enough... > or insuring a bit of sustain. It should be entirely unnecessary to > have to resort to any draconian measures for these kinds of jobs. > Whether you are using soft hammers that require hardener to achieve any > semblance of tone, or tensioned hammers that need needling to bring out > the tone. Aw, Ric, I hate it when we enter the realm of "shoulds." ;-) It would be wonderful if the piano world was perfect and we all had great hammers to work with. I was just talking about what worked for certain pianos here in reality. And actually, after these pianos were "opened" up they WERE great pianos to work with (and play!). In fact, it was precisely this method, or I should say, its results that drew attention to my work and ability to voice so that a university called me up and offered me a position. Yes, just like that! I'll admit, some of these pianos were only in studios at a university, not a concert hall, but very capable pianists were playing on them. I guess I could shock you further to tell you about working on a Steinway B in at a faculty member's home. Of all the Bs I worked on, it had the most beautiful sound [my opinion--and I've got a good one ;-) ]. Unfortunately, the owner, one of my pickiest clients, suffered from tinnitus and she wanted me to take it down a notch. I scheduled a whole morning to do the work. Got there, loaded the needles into the voicing tool and started stabbing.........nothing........dang! After 15 minutes of notta, I got out some hammer softening solution. 2 or 3 drops on each hammer and five minutes later the piano was done. She was ecstatic, said the piano was perfect. My disappointment was that I finished so fast--I was planning on making a bunch of money that morning! No, I'm not suggesting that folks go out and drench Steinway B hammers (or any other hammer for that matter) with hammer softening solution. A little dab worked in this case. Sandpaper and needles are always first, but the trick is to know when to use the tricks! My passion for "all things voicing" got a jump start very early in my career. One of the very first pianos I went out to tune was a Baldwin Acrosonic. The owner asked me if I could make it less bright. And though I had a vague idea, I really didn't know what do. After that experience, I promised myself that I was NEVER going to be in that situation again. Cheers to you! Barbara (you said you'd like that voiced?) Richmond _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC