Steam treating hard hammers

[Ron Nossaman]

> The environment is not the issue. I check the service history of this 
> piano and noticed it was harsh sounding in the store before we sold it. 
> I tried several times before it was sold to get a more pleasing sound 
> using both acetone and commercial hammer softener. Nothing seems to 
> last. Using needles doesn't seem to work on this piano.
>  
> Wayne

What was the criteria for buying the piano in the first place? 
It's small and shiny and cheap, but sounds like crap - we'll 
take it! I tell people that choosing a piano is like choosing 
a mate. If you expect to be together for a long time, get what 
you really want or can at least live with in the first place, 
rather than taking what you can easily get and expecting to 
change it to suit you later. There's likely to be bad news 
waiting when it comes time to polish the t... Annulment, 
divorce, or another try with cosmetic surgery seem to me to be 
the options. I'd tell them it really ought to get new hammers, 
but I'd try to voice these down more first. If the hammers die 
before they become tolerable, then replacement is next. No 
guarantees on the voicing, and no promise that new hammers 
would make it wonderful. It is what it is.
Ron N