<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12px; "><pre style="font-size: 9pt; "><tt>Message: 8 Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:15:25 -0700 From: "David Ilvedson" <<a href="mailto:ilvey@sbcglobal.net" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; ">ilvey@sbcglobal.net</a>> Subject: Re: New Steinway Hammers was---hammer thickness trimming jig To: <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; ">pianotech@ptg.org</a> Message-ID: <00272E26081F150F196D002004@David> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Courier; "> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; ">Hi David, </div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; ">Yes, they were awesome. Now mind you eveyone's attitude toward a "perfect" tone differs. </div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; ">But having rebuilt many SW's in my life I know the frustration many techs feel after installing a fluffy hammer. </div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; ">In the past, I used sanding sealer for my SW hammers instead of lacquer. Sanding sealer is lacquer with an additive, Stearate. <br> </div> <div style="margin -top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; ">The stearate makes the lacquer brittle and will break down over time. It also can be reverse voiced unlike straight lacquer. </div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; min-height: 14px; ">As for the Yamaha hammers, I would say they bring out the best of the bass and crisp up the treble quite nicely. Clarity comes to mind. </div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; min-height: 14px; ">They have been the best "out of the box" hammer I have ever used. They are also one of the easiest hammers to voice. <br> </div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; min-height: 14px; ">My technique, uhh, well, aside from using my ears, having satisfied some of the best ears in the music industry</div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; min-height: 14px; ">is none other than good old fashioned filing, string voicing, and hammer alignment. I shade the</div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; min-height: 14px; ">the differences starting with the softest hammer and w orking outward. My needling tends to be very deep on the shoulders</div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; min-height: 14px; ">and shallow around the strike points. </div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Courier; ">Patrick</div> <div><br> </div> </span> </tt></pre><pre style="font-size: 9pt; "><br> </pre><pre style="font-size: 9pt; "><tt>I'd be interested in your voicing technique for the those Yamaha hammers...were they great right out of the box? David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 ----- Original message ---------------------------------------- From: <a href="mailto:cclpianos@aol.com" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; ">cclpianos@aol.com</a> To: <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; ">pianotech@ptg.org</a> Received: 8/31/2008 7:00:10 AM Subject: Re: New Steinway Hammers was---hammer thickness trimming jig >Having just read the blurb on the Steinway hammers: I have used Yamaha hammers >on my Steinway "O" and loved the results. I have never lacquered them. They are a >bit pricey but are nearly identical in gram weight and physical dimensions. I did this >after meeting a recording studio engineer from LA, whose piano had the >modification.</tt></pre></span> <div id='u8CADB0C46445AB3-1D6C-BA9' class='aol_ad_footer'><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><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!</FONT> </div>