Lacquer fight! Lacquer fight!

[David Love]

I use NY Steinway hammers on a regular basis and, lately, I usually do not
add lacquer to the tenor and bass sections at all.  I often find that from
F#5 or G5 to the top something--4:1 or 5:1-- is required to balance the
piano.  I like to add lacquer from the sides, a few drops on each side of
the hammer right under the strike point, though at the very top it usually
goes over the crown.  It's a pain in the back to prop the action back and
forth, but I only like to use lacquer where it's needed and lacquer in the
shoulders seems unnecessary, maybe even counterproductive, in my opinion. 
The hammer of the last year or two is much firmer than the one being
produced 3-4 years ago, and more consistent generally.  The hammers do get
a good filing before I bore them.  I take off a good 1/16" of felt,
sometimes more, until I get to a layer that has a nice consistency--hard to
describe what that is exactly, but it is more dense than the fluffy layer
right on top.  The time frame for development depends, of course, on how
and how much the piano is played.   If someone is used to a Yamaha, then it
may not be enough.  On the other hand, it may also be a welcome relief.  

David Love
davidlovepianos@earthlink.net


> [Original Message]
> From: Jerry Cohen <emailforjc@yahoo.com>
> To: <davidlovepianos@earthlink.net>; Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Date: 5/9/2004 6:59:57 PM
> Subject: RE: Lacquer fight! Lacquer fight!
>
> This is very interesting and confirms a recent experience.
> A few days ago I had a brief chance to work on a 4 year old Steinway S
> (NY).
> The hammers were very soft everywhere (from bass to high treble), and
> even with some test stabs, it felt like no lacquer was ever applied to
> these hammers. But the piano had plenty of brilliance and no need to add
> any more. 
> The piano had a few zingers, and with just a few stabs directly at the
> string striking points, the zings disappeared, but the brilliance
> remained. I have never seen hammers respond so quickly and precisely.
>
> The piano was in a retail store, and was already sold. I had less than 2
> hours before the movers were coming, and that included time for tuning.
> This S sounded more like and L (except in the deep bass). I wish I had
> more time to work on it. There was not even time to file the hammers.
>
> This experience raises the following question. With new Steinway (NY)
> hammers, you cannot needle up to achieve brilliance since there is no
> "battery". The traditional Steinway method is to add lacquer (3:1
> strength). But perhaps it is best to just play the piano for a year and
> see what happens. If this S is any indication, wow, what a gorgeous tone
> and enormous pallete. Does anyone have experience with new S&S (NY)
> hammers without lacquer? Would the cotton ball sound for the 1st year be
> too painful?
>
> Jerry Cohen
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
> Behalf Of David Love
> Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2004 8:32 PM
> To: Pianotech
> Subject: Re: Lacquer fight! Lacquer fight!
> I also agree with Willis that the hammer, at least this type of hammer,
> should be
> played in, or allowed to develop naturally as much as possible before
> applying hardeners.  I do have some customers who prefer a softer/darker
> type of sound that the NY Steinway hammer gives, that also have a fear
> of
> the type of tone that lacquer will produce.  In one such case, while I
> did
> put a very weak 5:1 solution on the upper range of the instrument (Model
> D), after 50 - 100 hours of playing (in her case, about one month), the
> hammers developed very nicely and at this point--two or three years
> later--the piano has plenty of "power", a beautiful round tone and broad
> tonal palette.  The voicing I do consists mainly of maintaining the
> shape
> of the hammer and light crown needling.  While the Steinway hammers of a
> few years ago were such puffballs that they would never have developed,
> the
> ones I am seeing today have a much better consistency.  It is
> unfortunate
> that many players have come to expect instant tone with the piano and
> don't
> have the patience to allow things to develop more naturally.  Those type
> of
> hammers, to my ear, produce the most satisfying tone. 
>
> David Love
> davidlovepianos@earthlink.net
>
>
>