<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><div>On Oct 19, 2008, at 11:17 PM, <a href="mailto:BobDavis88@aol.com">BobDavis88@aol.com</a> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"> <div id="role_body" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Bookman Old Style" bottommargin="7" leftmargin="7" topmargin="7" rightmargin="7"><font id="role_document" face="Bookman Old Style" color="#000000" size="3"> <div>In a message dated 10/18/2008 2:38:30 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, <a href="mailto:oorebeek@planet.nl">oorebeek@planet.nl</a> writes:</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"> </font><div><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face="Arial" color="#000000" size="2">Only part of the hammer is the shock absorber, but it is the  most important part of the hammer and the basis for a decent voicing.</font></div></blockquote> <div>Andre - </div> <div> </div> <div>Would you mind elaborating? Maybe a difference in definition here, but I think of a shock absorber (as on a car) as a mechanism to convert energy into heat (through hydraulic means). This would seem to me the antithesis of what we want, which is a loss-less means of storing energy and returning it to the string over a varying (and adjustable) period of time.</div> <div> </div> <div>Bob Davis</div></font></div></blockquote><br></div><div>Hi Bob and Listers.</div><div><br></div><div>Just to make sure we understand each other :</div><div>As we all know, a brand new hammer basically needs two voicings : </div><div><br></div><div>1. the first voicing, during which we apply a cushion, the shock absorber</div><div>2. the second voicing, during which we even out the highs and the lows, adjust tonal volume, make the left pedal voicing and apply 'cosmetics'. </div><div><br></div><div>As the new hammer is 'usually' stone hard, or at least too hard (or so it should be), the tone will be loud, nasal and shrill.</div><div>That is because the higher partials predominate.</div><div>To make the tone more pleasant and agreeable we need to create some lower partials as well.</div><div>Therefor we make a 'cushion' and the cushion area is between the basis of the hammer and the crown.</div><div>The cushion becomes in fact the shock absorber and acts as a 'go between' between the loaded and powerful basis, the "battery", and the sensitive crown and near-crown area.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>To make the 'right' cushion is, according to me, the most difficult thing about voicing.</div><div>It is about creating the 'right' tone, the 'right' balance between power, loudness, and that in great variety, according to a multiple taste.</div><div>Making a good and healthy cushion/absorber in a professional way (time wise), requires great skill and vast experience.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; ">friendly greetings<br>from<br>André Oorebeek<br><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; ">Antoni van Leeuwenhoekweg 15</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; ">1401 VW, Bussum</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; ">the Netherlands</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; "><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; ">tel :    +31 35 6975840</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; ">gsm : +31 652 388008</span></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; "><br>"where Music is, no harm can be"</span></div><div><br></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br></body></html>