Nick writes:
<<I have been wondering, however, where are those Renner Blue advocates out
there, of which there must be many.<snip>it
seems that a professional discussion of the relative experiences and
anecdotal input on these matters along with specific voicing techniques
would be worthwhile. Is a consensus of thought developing out there?<<
I don't think there will ever be consensus, but there are certainly
choices. I have many sets of Renner Blues out in my clientele, and they can
be made to sound good, however, the amount of needle work required is
excessive, and they are simply too heavy to be brought to near original weights when
working on older Steinways. I can do it, but geez, the amount of time trimming
them makes them expensive. They do allow voicing as they age, which the
Steinway hammers don't, given that they are so full of lacquer that when filed once
or twice there is very little to work with.
>>Many experienced techs are loathe to use S&S hammers, either in the past or
present, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is they feel they
cannot get the bite they are looking for. <<
>>Other fine techs take the opposite view by only using S&S as they feel they
can't get the warmth or stability they are looking for. You and others have
explained quite well the merits of the new Weickerts and I am very
appreciative of that.<<
Add me to to the list on the basis of one set of Weickerts. They are
soft, but the potential is obvious. I think the best sound comes from a hammer
that is slightly too soft to begin with and is played in. Something about the
resilient combination of elasticity and hardness allows for the malleable tone
players like.
>> when it comes time to choose hammers for
performance venue instruments such as Bs and Ds. We all know that such
pianos need to bite as well as carry, and that most performers are going to
voice frustration if this isn't the case. <<
I agree that performers like to feel the power, however, I have heard
too many pianos that sound like muscular workhorses on the stage, but halfway
out in the hall they sound thin and harsh. The artist on the stage feels like
they are just knocking the walls out of the hall, but that is just what they
hear while they are right there by the instrument. There is a profound
difference between loud and powerful. It takes a softer hammer to produce the lower
end of the tonal spectrum in a note and a firmer hammer to produce the higher
end which gives the note definition. It is the combination that makes for a
powerful projection. These Weickerts seem to have that combo built in.
>>I would hope for professional replies, though I am aware that in the world
of Lists and Groups many believe that a no-holds-barred approach is the most
democratic, informative and should be considered the norm.<<
Hmm, Ok, I guess that makes me democratic. I will never use Steinway
hammers again, since consistancy is non-existant and the last two sets had been
lacquered into oblivion. Some previous sets were marshmallows. Mis-shapen
felt, weights all over the place, etc. For this I have to pay a premium price
for the name only?
For many years it was understood that the Steinway piano needed to be
broken in to sound its best. The desire for instant gratification may be behind
the philosophy of hardening them to sound good when new, but the service life
is pretty short in comparison to a softer hammer that is played for a while.
The current hammers bear no resemblance to the originals I am taking off,
so what is the point of calling them "authentic"? When you change knuckle
distance to accomodate a heavier hammer, the touch and response are not going to
be the same as the original design, and the original design is what the brand
built its reputation on...
The Weickert hammers I have on this 1927 M are the first hammers I have
used that sounded so good right out of the box. I will be adding some lacquer
to the top octave and the bottom two octaves, but the middle is already near
perfect, needing only play to be optimum. I can't say anything about
durability, but the sound, oh the sound.
Regards,
Ed Foote RPT
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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