Lacquer fight!/ Internal friction

[Topperpiano@aol.com]

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My response to Ric's two part question is that from my perspective (voicing), 
that the lacquer reduces the ability of the hammer felt fibers to move around 
the molding and to reqroup so to speak. This to me is why needling frees up 
the movement and produces a larger, rounder tone with more volume on an 
unlacquered or mildly treated hammer.  Needling a lacquered hammer can improve timbre 
but rarely in my experience volume or power.  I can't speak to the studies of 
internal friction because I have never been privy to the larger volume of 
what is written.  I have thought however that the older hammers probably didn't 
require much voicing - not like we do today. They weren't juiced and they 
weren't hard enough to require monumental needling.  The study that you have noted 
using the three Abel, Renner, Imadegawa is interesting because as Andre just 
noted it really is a difference between the European and American style of 
hammer production.  I just mentally group the Abel, Renner and Imadegawa as 
virtually the same hammer manufacturing theory with their own twist applied - very 
different for the NY S&S approach.  I think what we have now in the Steinway 
hammer is not a proactive approach to hammer manufacturing but a "Oh MY God, 
they sound like crap. What are we gonna do?" approach that has been in place 
since the 1960s.  I do however give them credit for trying to correct things but 
the days in which you won't have to juice a Steinway D for concert use is still 
ahead of us.  And I think it has been so long since a really great hammer has 
been made in this country that few alive (or certainly in a position of 
authority at the piano manufacturing level) has the knowledge to drag us out of the 
doldrums.  I am very excited about the Ronsen Wurzen hammer and have just the 
B to try them on. Topperpiano (TP)

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