<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2715.400" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2><EM> </EM>I respectfully disagree. The difference in cost between high and low quality parts is not that much. Most of the cost of replacing hammers is in the labor. I'm not sure what choices you are making, but if you are putting a hammer on a low quality instrument, put on the hammer that will produce the best sound for that instrument. Hammers from Ronsen cost about $175, from Abel $200.+, from Renner, $200+, from Isaac 300+. A supply house hammer might be less, but what is gained at what savings. A poor quality hammer will just make it sound worse. If you are going to do the job, put forward the best effort with the parts best suited to the instrument or don't do the job. The piano may not give what you want, but a poor quality part will just make it worse.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>
<DIV>David Love</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:davidlovepianos@earthlink.net">davidlovepianos@earthlink.net</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=Wimblees@aol.com href="mailto:Wimblees@aol.com"></A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 1/24/2003 10:58:09 AM </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: High quality?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">In a message dated 1/24/03 3:05:57 PM Central Standard Time, swiftspiano@hotmail.com writes:<BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" TYPE="CITE">Hi all<BR><BR>Here is a hypothetical question: Is it worth putting high quality strings <BR>on a low quality baby grand? And like wise, is it worth putting high <BR>quality hammers on a low quality baby grand? Specifically, would there be a <BR>noticable difference in the sound quality or would it just be a waste of <BR>money?<BR><BR><BR>Ned Swift<BR>Lowell, MI<BR><BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>"or would it just be a waste of money?"<BR><BR>YES<BR><BR>The reason a piano is of low quality is not because of the quality of the parts, but because of the quality of workmanship and engineering when the piano was made in the first place. If you're just going to replace the parts, you'll never hear the difference. If you want to get into redesigning the designing the piano, there might be a chance that you can get a decent sound out of it. But just replacing the parts with expensive ones is not going to do it.<BR><BR>Wim </FONT></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>