<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm a little shocked at the response = from my fellow technicians here, perhaps they're not familiar with the = Shigeru.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>First of all, don't even think of = changing the hammers on your piano. Those hammers are very special, and they are one = of the secrets of why the Shigeru is what it is.  If you had a technician = file the hammers, his technique may leave a lot to be desired. With Shigeru's I = always finish off with at least 800 grit, with the hammers set at the strike = point, so that I'm getting an absolutely level strike surface. If you don't get = the strike surface level, you lose power. Unless a technician who is not familiar = with the special techniques used on one of these happened to over-needle the = hammers, they come from the factory well in the range of where they should be in = your home. Only you can answer as to who may have worked on your = piano.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    I don't want to = offend you, but this question sometimes comes from people who are losing a little of = their high frequency hearing, which is more common today than most people realise. = I just mention it so that you can consider whether that may indeed be a possibility.  If the hammers have been over needled in that area of = the scale, usually they will brighten up when filed properly, and or "reset" = with the back end of a voicing tool, or a small 2 oz. mallet, in a voicing = tray. Do not, nor let your technician, treat these hammers with chemicals. These = are not Steinway hammers, so they don't need the juice, you'll lose your dynamic = range if you do. Have you had a Japanese technician come out to your house, = yet? Explain your concerns to him, and I'm sure he can do what you want. I = read what someone else wrote on the list before I hastily jumped in here, about = them not coming out to the college.. I'm not sure that they do that for = institutions, only individuals perhaps. I'm sure that Don Mannino is going to jump in = here, he's the final authority, not me. I only posted this to keep you from = doing anything too drastic in the meantime.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kevin E. Ramsey, R.P.T.</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=stephane.hanriat@free.fr href="mailto:stephane.hanriat@free.fr">Stéphane Hanriat</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> Thursday, February 19, = 2004 2:31 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Voicing up Shigeru = Kawai SK3</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I own a brand new Shigeru Kawai SK3 = that the Kawai technician in France has</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>made, according to me,  too deep = voicing on notes in the treeble range (octave 5 to 6).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Although he disagrees with that, the = tone is slightly too mellow in this range,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>from pianissimo up to mezzo forte. At = pianissimo or piano, the higher partials are</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>reduced compared to neighboring = octaves (impacted notes are from 55 to 69),</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>and the attack looks a bit = dull.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Those higher partials are coming back = with more strength on the key. However,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>these notes always require slightly = more strength to produce a balanced sound.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From Mezzo forte up to Forte, things = are OK (overall loudness and tone quality</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>is well balanced)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The technician made several filing = with very limited improvement. I'm not a</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>specialist, just a pianist - but my = engineering background and what I learned</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>reading your very interesting posts, = tell me that there has been likely too much</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>deep needling in the higher section = of the shoulders.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Shigeru hammers are cold-pressed = and are considered as medim/soft in</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>europe. May be they are not  = very robust to extensive voicing.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm wondering what could be the best = solution to recover some power to these</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>15 hammers : dry ironing, juicing or = changing those 15 hammer heads ?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kawai says the tone will not be even = if I change only a sub set of hammers</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>(they don't want to replace either = full set of subset anyway...</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Have you experienced changing subset = of hammers in this range ?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Which hammer head brand would you = recommend for those Kawai pianos (softer</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>than Yamaha...) ?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Do you think dry ironing would make = it ? (actually the recovery level I'm expecting</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>is not that big and the felt = thickness is small in this range, so this could work).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Many thanks for your = feedbacks,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sincerely yours,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Stephane Hanriat</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A = href="mailto:stephane.hanriat@free.fr">stephane.hanriat@free.fr</A></FO= NT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PS : This being said, the SK3 is an = outstanding instrument. Action is close to</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>perfection, overall tone is = wonderful, rich, not too harsh like Yamaha and the</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>softer hammers give you great control = and margin in the way you produce louder</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>sound.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial = size=2></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>