<!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 6.00.6000.16643" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dale-</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Good to know that. I've bought a set of Abel Naturals for my U-1, which I hope to install while I can still hear.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Julia-</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Meanwhile I spray the crowns lightly with rubbing alcohol (to slightly dampen the felt), then brush lightly. As David says, it doesn't last, but it takes 2 minutes to do every few weeks.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ed Sutton</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=erwinspiano@aol.com href="mailto:erwinspiano@aol.com">erwinspiano@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> Sunday, May 04, 2008 11:23 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Voicing Help</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><BR><BR><BR>  Julia<BR>  I have never understood the Yamaha hammer design philosophy. They come back to the place you've described frequently. even with my best job of voicing I can not get the tone I want or the tone to last with a majority of OEM hammers.<BR>   So many good low compression hammers works so well in these pianos.  The Ronsen is a good one with 3 felts to choose from. I'd go Bacon or VFG felt. The Wurzen felt can be a bit  stiff in these pianos. I find the piano in general can develop more tonal potential & dynamics & a more enjoyable tone overall with replacement hammers. Others may disagree....I'm ok with that.<BR>  Dale Erwin<BR><BR> <DIV id=AOLMsgPart_2_45dfedb9-e8d7-4eb6-be1c-228ffbb8f699><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV>Greetings,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>         I usually shallow needle my Yami's U3 hammers after tuning to take off the "glassy" edge. However, after 10+ years of playing on this piano (This is my personal piano), sugar-coating ain't cutting it anymore.  The hammers sound ear-piercing. I side needled the area just in front of the wood core, but this only alleviated the ear piercing sound a little. These hammers were <EM>packed ha</EM>rd too!  Is Yamaha hammer quality the problem?  What am I doing wrong? ...or aren't I needling enough?  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks</DIV> <DIV>Julia Gottshall</DIV> <DIV>Reading, PA </DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR> <DIV><FONT style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black"> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? <A title=http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001 href="http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001" target=_blank>Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food</A>.</FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV class=aol_ad_footer id=u8CA7C7673FD101F-11B4-1AAE><FONT style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black"> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> Plan your next roadtrip with <A title=http://www.mapquest.com/?ncid=mpqmap00030000000004 href="http://www.mapquest.com/?ncid=mpqmap00030000000004" target=_blank>MapQuest.com</A>: America's #1 Mapping Site.</FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>