Barbara Richmond wrote: >>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 understand Barbara. I was just trying to discern between two major types of voicing situations. And in general get some discussion going about the willingness to jump at using juice or other chemicals without even considering needles. I certainly dont want to get into the whats universally right and wrong discussion. Heck... I'm the first to argue against others when I think I am hearing the old absolutes coming through. That said.. I think for higher class pianos... and by that I mean anything from say a Yamaha C3 and up over then one should pretty much insure a decent set of hammers and stick to well established proceedures for handling the job. And that goes just as much for the lacquer technique if you opt for that kind of hammer as it does my own preference for tensioned hammers that need needling. What goes for other instruments is what goes for them.... I think just about anyone knows that dealing with those Young Changs of the late 70's early 80s puts a whole other dimension into the concept of voicing... and ...grin... frankly I dont want to go there. I guess I have the luxery at this point of picking what kind of customers and jobs I want. And at this point... if I cant put a fine set of hammers on a piano that needs them.... then I let somebody else do the whatever bit. Thats not a criticism per se... heck I've been there and may go back before alls done. But hey... younger less established techs need work and challanges too so when I opt out of a job, I'm actually doing some kid a big favour. I like to keep things on that level when I can to... nice and positive oriented :) >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! > > > Well heck there Barbs... :)... NY S&S's force you to treat them this way as often as not. Thats the gig over there. Lots of lacquer through the years. You end up with hammers that simply wont respond to the needle... many times even up in the crown area for purely softening the tone... you just get no response. So you have to go with a chemical... or trade hammers. And I doubt I would recommend that Stateside as I just know the next guy will come along and soak em anyways. Thats sort of my point with all this. I shouldnt have to feel that way. Should be that techs know when /not/ to use hammer dope... when you actually /can /needle up. I get the feeling that far too many (both in Europe and Stateside) dont really even know what that really is... much less have any real developed skills in the area. And why should they ?? Whoes out there giving all that neccessary hands on training... what factories do young techs get to go to and get personalized training any more ? Again... this isnt a criticism in any personal sense of the word... rather a critical minded question about the general state of the art I suppose. >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! > > > Thats more or less my whole point. Dont jump for the chemicals without further ado. And learn needling techniques very well... which IMB is quite a bit more involved then just going to a convention and stand around a grand with 40 other guys and watch somebody bang away at a few hammers... file a few... show a bit of mating... and violla... thats it folks. Ideally you need to sit at a factory gettin fed one instrument after the other with a really good voicer on hand to help you get yourself where you want to go. Unrealistic in this world... but there are alternatives... like the voicning seminars we started up over here. >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. > > > Boy do I know that feeling. Gets really bad when that University Doctorate is breathing down your neck as you are starting to clean up his pride and joy of a Bosie, S&S, or Yamanamaha... etc. That person /knows/ what they want to sense from the the instrument for each different touch of the key. Knowing how to get there fast and with confidence is one heck of a big asset. >Cheers to you! > >Barbara (you said you'd like that voiced?) Richmond > > > > > You too Barbara ! RicB
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