voicing Wurzen hammers

[Ric Brekne]

Hi Folks

Grin.... my my my ..... 20 to 40 stabs.  Where to begin ?

Ok.. Terry, I do mean 20 to 40 for each hammer and on each side.  No 
before the howling starts, let me say that this is for what I consider 
moderatly pressed hammers. To expound on that let me say that they are 
also very easy to needle. No problems sinking needles in.  I like 7-8 mm 
in length for the first voicing, and I go from about 8 oclock up to 
10:30, zig zaging and moving up and down.

The reason I prefer hammers that need about this amount of needling is 
that the kernel area is then adequately hard due to the pressure used in 
creating the hammers.  The hard kernel works very well under the 
resilient crown area created by releasing shoulder tensions, and it 
gives me exactly that nice wide dynamic range I found so hard to get for 
so many years.

This really shouldnt suprise anyone much.  The majority of good voicers 
I know, whether they use the laquer approach or the traditional needling 
approach have one fundemental goal in common.  They want a hard nut or 
kernel just under the crown accompanied by a gradualy decreasing 
hardness from the crown downwards to the lower shoulders.  There are of 
course notable exceptions... i.e. Franz Mohrs hard shoulders approach.

I use needling because I find a difference between laquered hammers and 
non laquered hammers, and that difference is one that becomes a matter 
of taste, personal preference if you will.

As to definitions of hard vs soft hammers.  My own working definition 
has to do with how easy it is to sink needles into them.  How much they 
need needling is not so much a matter of hardness per se IMHO.

As to Ronsens Wurzens and just how much they need.... Well,  Dale E is 
the fellow I lend my ear to most on the subject, and if he says they 
dont need as much as the ones I am getting then I believe him.  He and I 
are working on a little cross the seas project on that point and I look 
very much forward to being able to share results with you all when the 
time comes.

Any other questions ??

Cheers my friends

Richard Brekne




I guess we'll have to wait to hear from Ric, but when I read his post, I 
envisioned 20-40 stabs. Period. Meaning that maybe 1/3 of the hammers would 
get one or two stabs.

Ric?

Terry Farrell

I've hung 5 sets of Ronsen Wurzen's this summer.  None needed any needling. 
The top half octave could have been treated a little but since they all were 
in practice rooms (5'10" pianos in 5'11" rooms!) I didn't do any treating.

If I get any hammers that need 20 to 40 stabs I'll have to retire.  I don't 
think my hands would do that.  They're getting old!

David M. Porritt, RPT