<font color='navy' size='2' face='Comic Sans MS, sans-serif'> <div><blockquote style="border-left-width: 2px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: blue; padding-left: 3px; "><font size="2"><br> </font> <div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times, serif; "><span><font size="2">Dear Ann,</font></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times, serif; "><font size="2"><br> </font></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><font size="2"><font face="times, serif">      Thank</font><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> </font><font face="times, serif">you for your perspective.  You couldn't be closer to the truth.</font></font></div> <div style="font-family: times, serif; "><font size="2">They were perfect<font color="#0000cd">. <u><i> <b>Don't you think that in an artistic sense, the demise of  </b></i></u></font></font></div> <div style="font-family: times, serif; "><u><i><font color="#0000cd" size="2"><b>global tone quality was the demise created with the loss of the soft hammer?</b></font></i></u></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times, serif; "><font size="2">I think your call to arms is admirable.  You can be proud of that.</font></div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times, serif; ">      </div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><font face="times, serif">      Sincerely,</font><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> </font><span style="font-family: times, serif; font-size: 10pt; "> Brent Fischer</span></div> </div> </blockquote></div> <br> <div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_1_0815ec68-a002-40cb-947f-7934203d2b87"> <font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><font size="2" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica; "><br> </font> <div dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; font-family: times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font face="times, serif" style="font-size: small; ">Something I can almost agree with you on. The soft or less hard hammer is not lost. It lives on in  my work </font><span style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; ">(and in that of many) </span><font face="times, serif" style="font-size: small; ">and is still made at Ronsen piano hammer in the Catskills just in case you missed that.</font></div> <div id="yiv106888092" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> <div style="font-family: times, serif; "><font size="2">Dale</font></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; "><font color="darkgreen" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica; "><span style="font-style: italic;"><b><font size="1"><font color="darkgreen"></font></font></b></span></font><tt style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica; "><tt><font color="darkgreen"><br>  </font></tt></tt> <div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "><font size="2">Yes, so is this the felt that Andrew Anderson is getting when he</font></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "><font size="2">orders " Euro voicing "  instead of  the " American "  with the Abel Naturals?</font></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "><font size="2"><br> </font></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "><font size="2">Brent</font></div> <div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br> <font size="2" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">No, not the same felt. I don't know what the Abel felt is and they tend to keep those things a secret. </font> <div><br> <div>Ronsen piano hammer co. and Renner usa/Renner Germany have exclusive Weickert special felt distribution rights currently, as  Ray Negron , myself & Rick Baldassin, worked on this project and contributed as colleagues several years to the R & D for Jack Brand. Jack is the owner of the Wurzen felt co. In Germany, formerly the J.D.Weickert co. </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br> </div> <div><font size="2" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> Jack is a felt master, wizard, guru and the world of piano techs. at large don't have any idea how fortunate we are to have some one like him developing fantastic products for us...yet.</font> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> The Weickert special felt has a distinctive marker in the bass end hammers.</div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> It is a solitary gray or black semi circle. This way,  no secrets, you know what felt you're getting. </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br> </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">    The Ronsen  Weickert and Renner blue point (Weickert felt) products are in our opinion complimentary products.</div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br> </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> I suspect one of the felts Abel uses is the Wurzen AA felt, another Wurzen product. This is also marked but, by two grayish circles.</div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br> </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">The source of the  Abel  "Natural felt" is a closely gaurded secret.</div> <div> The Abels are great people and fierce competitors. IMO they are currently running to catch up as well as keep their own market edge. </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> Its wonderful to have so many choices in hammers. I have been pounding the drum about how horrible hard hammers are for 25 years now and finally manufacturers are listening and producing what we want and what musicians have been searching for.</div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Its a great time to be a piano tech.</div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br> </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Dale Erwin</div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Whistling a happy tune</div> <br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; "><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; "><br> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></b></span></div> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; "> <div style="font-size: 12pt; "> <div id="yiv106888092"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> <div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: sans-serif; "> <div style="clear: both; "><br> </div> </div> </div> </font></div> </div> </div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_1_c3123795-53c7-4c34-aa27-9e822e5c2f4c"> <div> <div> <div><br> <div> <div><br> <br> <br> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:10pt"> <div><span><br> </span></div> <div><br> </div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "> <div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "> <div id="yiv106888092"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> <div> <div style="color: navy; font-size: 10pt; font-family: sans-serif; "> <div style="clear:both;"><font color="darkgreen"><span style="font-style:italic;"><b><font size="1"> <font color="darkgreen"></font></font></b></span></font><tt><tt><font color="darkgreen"><br>  </font><br>   <font size="2"></font></tt></tt><br> </div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica; "> <div id="yiv106888092AOLMsgPart_1_ce4cdd4a-12ae-48a1-8c50-6c0e2fd06a86"> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "><br> <div><br> </div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: times, serif; "> <div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: times, serif; "> <div dir="ltr"> <font size="2" face="Arial"> <hr size="1"> </font></div> <div id="yiv106888092"> <div> <div><br> <div><br> <br> </div> </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 10pt; font-family: times, serif; "><br> <div><span><br> </span></div> <div><span>     </span></div> <div><br> </div> <div><br> </div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: times, serif; "> <div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: times, serif; "> <div id="yiv106888092"> <div> <div style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; "> <div><br> <br> <div><span></span><br> <br> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </font></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </span></div> </font> </div>  </div> </font>