<div>But I'd be VERY interested to know what it sounds like in a year or two!!!!!!!! </div> <div> </div> <div>Avery Todd  </div> <div>On 7/1/07, James Beinke <<a href="mailto:beinkej@tnni.net">beinkej@tnni.net</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Just read the thread re brightening Yamaha hammers. Installed a set of Steinway hammers on a Model S in a fairly small apartment in Naples, FL, across the street from the Gulf. Used lacquer, but after 6 months the client asked for more brilliance. Since I also service a larger Steinway at the client's lake home in Michigan, I knew the sound she hoped to achieve. The following treatment took three days, since the client lived almost 100 miles away and I used the job as an excuse to go camping in the Naples area. Unwilling to dope her hammers with more lacquer, and after having read a great deal about alternatives, this time I used a solution of 1 tablespoon of ground clear plexiglass in 8 oz of acetone. I used a cheap metal-handled brush used for pasting or soldering. I cut the bristles halfway back. I applied one brush full on the striking point of each hammer (gasp!) The solution dries very quickly and can be tested within the hour. The beauty of the treatment is that the plexiglass doesn't go so deeply into the felt. If the hammer is too bright, simply sand the surface. I wasn't sure what to expect, being a "traditionalist", but I was completely surprised and pleased. The treatment seems much more exact. The very first run-through brought more brilliance without any harshness. Encouraged, I kept going. It took three treatments, with the second treatment primarily on the striking point of the top three octaves, and on both shoulders in the mid-section and down. The last treatment was a careful gradation from C6 down. Tone is subjective. I think one needs to have an inner ear, an inner idea of what constitutes a beautiful tone. What thrilled me about this particular endeavor is that the whole piano, especially the treble, began to sing and never sounded harsh, even at fortissimo. Very little needling had to be done, much to my surprise. As an aside: Some years ago, in a telephone call to Steinway's chief technician regarding voicing new hammer on a concert grand, I learned that special care in voicing needs to be taken at the points on both sides of the stringing "gaps" in the treble bridge under the plate girders. James Beinke 72 years old, still learning </blockquote></div>