[pianotech] Nitrocellulose Lacquer: Stirred, Shaken, or Left Alone?

Al Guecia/Allied PianoCraft alliedpianocraft at hotmail.com
Mon Jan 31 13:34:00 MST 2011


"Voicing never ends"

Yes Nick, agreed. And when you think you're done, I would consider that a good starting point to finish up.
 
Al -
High Point, NC



On Jan 31, 2011, at 3:14 PM, Nicholas Gravagne wrote:

> Hey Mr. Keith,
> 
> Ah, yes ---- my Kawai Years (as I call them), when Don Mannino and I
> made the rounds.
> 
> It should be noted that (unless I am mistaken) the hammers you
> reference in that class were hard-pressed, typical of Kawai, Yamaha,
> and many others. As you know, the hammers RE Paul's inquiry are an
> entirely different animal.
> 
> You say, "The majority of folks will never realize the process you demonstrated
> on a single hammer multiplied by 88."
> 
> Aye, but there's the rub. The more voicing I've done over the years
> (needles, juice, pliers, heat, vodka, steam, along with other
> desperate measures) the more pointed has become the challenge to
> balance out the entire scale such that all tones, especially
> neighboring tones, carry, as it were, "equal" weight.
> 
> It is here, in that little fussy and dithering universe, where
> nitpicking teeters between art and a complete nervous breakdown. And
> it is here where the voicer transmutes into an alchemist, replete with
> things giving off heat and smoke and smells, secret potions, tiny
> techniques and arcane accouterments. I cannot voice anymore unless I
> am in a dark room with a red light hanging overhead. Issac Newton
> would have made a great voicer.
> 
> Remember this?
> 
> "You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is
> another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a
> dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and
> substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into... the
> Twilight Zone."
> 
> Two small drops of liquid here, one drop there, two needle strokes
> here, one squeeze there, paddle this hammer but not those three,
> "side-voice" this section (wait a second, now how did I mark those
> keys again?).  Oh, whoops! I just applied the perfect technique ---
> but to the wrong hammer.
> 
> Voicing never ends. Any intelligent approach can get a single hammer
> up to or down to preference in any section of the scale; but now
> duplicate this by 88. This requires the highest level of skill. PTG
> classes like this should be at the top of the plan-to-attend list.
> 
> BTW -- per a previous post between you and me --- yes, by all means,
> Steppenwolf the band, too.
> 
> Be good. Peg says Hi.
> 
> NG
> 
> On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 11:57 AM, Mr. Mac's <tune-repair at allegiance.tv> wrote:
>> 
>> On Jan 31, 2011, at 11:38 AM, Nicholas Gravagne wrote:
>> 
>>> … As to overdoing it with the juice, as long as you
>>> can insert needles (or even a single needle) fairly easily you are in
>>> no danger. …
>> 
>> Nice stuff, Nick.
>> 
>> I still recall partially video taping a class you did in Oklahoma
>>   on voicing when you were a member of the Kawai team.
>> This video is \currently not available due to decisions being made.
>> 
>> All I could think was, "Wow."
>> 
>> The majority of folks will never realize the process you demonstrated
>>   on a single hammer multiplied by 88
>> 
>> My sincerest regards to you and Peg,
>> 
>> Keith
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Nick Gravagne, RPT
> AST Mechanical Engineering
> 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110131/348cd1ea/attachment-0001.htm>


More information about the pianotech mailing list

This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC