<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV>  Hi Alex</DIV> <DIV>  There are many purported Steinway Experts everywhere but what you need is a voicing expert & someone expereinced with working with the Steinway Style  of voicing.  I currently find the Factory hammers very workable with exception but as in Flying accidents, 99% of the time it's pilot error.  The same is true in the siuation you describe.  </DIV> <DIV>    When voiced correctly by filing the hammers to the Steinway recommended shape,ironing  & then applying appropriate mixtures lacquer hardening solutions the sound can be quite glorious.  All this is contigent on the sound board health , downbearing & strings being in good working order.</DIV> <DIV>  Dale Erwin</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <P>I visited a customer that called for a tuning of a Steinway Model M from the 70's. While tuning I realize the sound was so pronouncedly muffled that I mentioned to  her the need to voice it.</P> <P>To my surprise she mentioned the hammers had been replaced a year or two ago by an allegedly Steinway certified technician. She was formerly so dissatisfied with the sound of the piano afterwords that she never called him back.</P> <P>I wonder what would be recommended in this case to make the hammers a bit harder to recover the more normal brilliance of the Steinway sound.</P> <P>Alex Gluzmann, Buenos Aires.</P></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>