<div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> --David Love wrote <div id="AOLMsgPart_0_e08fa7bd-9e7f-48ea-a704-bb5335b171f5" style="margin: 0px; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><tt> I have found that the Bacon sets from Ronsen do not really change the palette in terms of being in sync with the Steinway model. </tt> I Also agree .They are both using Bacon felt but Ronsens hammers are slimly pressed in a consistent way & require little juice as you say. It's a wonderful hammer for these pianos & requires so little work to get a colorful tone. <tt>But you can order them pretty much any weight, or thickness and Ray can deliver. </tt>In a world where personal service is a lost art Ray is still a gifted practioner of this wonderful communication skill.  <tt>The pressing is a bit firmer than Steinway's so when you do add lacquer you only need a very mild solution. That adds density without binding everything together and the hammer doesn't lose its resilience. The In fairness, I haven't seen an unlacquered set of Steinway hammers in awhile because I pretty much gave up on them a few years ago. They might be improved but nothing I've heard recently in terms of their new pianos has impressed me with respect to hammers. Something happened in their manufacturing of hammers awhile ago and I can't tell you what it was exactly but they are neither consistent nor any good nor worth the money, in my view. </tt>Well what happened is that they shifted the lacquer solutions around about 2 years ago to satisfy some one for whatever reason Ie. perhaps folks who complained they were too soft & those same folks were unfamiliar with the Steinway hammer voicing protocols. Ok.... I simply asked nicely to get some hammers without lacquer. That's how that happened. Dale Erwin<tt> David Love <a href="mailto:davidlovepianos@comcast.net">davidlovepianos@comcast.net</a> <a href="http://www.davidlovepianos.com" target="_blank">www.davidlovepianos.com</a> -----Original Message----- From: <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a> [<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org?">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] On Behalf Of William Monroe Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 6:30 PM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: New Steinway Hammers was---hammer thickness trimming jig David, What drawbacks/disadvantages do you have with pre-lacquered hammers? Or is it mainly a preference for a different tonal palette than S&S hammers give? BTW, it is comforting to hear that others are experiencing the same issue with the width of the new hammers. Thought it was just me and my poor technique....... William R. Monroe SNIP > After much discussion about problems with > prelacquering,.......... SNIP > David Love </tt></pre> </div>  <div id='u8CAD93823363A9C-151C-4DDB' class='aol_ad_footer'><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"><A title="http://mapquest.com/toolbar?ncid=mpqmap00050000000010" href="http://mapquest.com/toolbar?ncid=mpqmap00050000000010" target="_blank">Get the MapQuest Toolbar</A>. Directions, Traffic, Gas Prices & More! </div>