<font color='navy' size='2' face='Comic Sans MS, sans-serif'><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">Hi Joe</font> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2"> I for one appreciate your words of praise for Ray enormously. Great product, personal service. We all know that to be true.</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2"><br> </font></div> <div><font size="2"><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">  The other hand I think the point Bills was making was the pendulum  has swung </font><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">dramatically</font><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> in favor of hammers that are more like non-linear felt springs they need to be instead of</font><u style="color: navy; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif;"> the petrified felt </u><span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif;">objects that have dominated the tonal landscape for the last 30 years. </span></font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2"><br> </font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">   Hey Joe, FWIW...Yamaha and Kawai both respond well to Ronsen hammers. But as David L. is fond of saying and he's right... it depends on the belly stiffness. </font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">   For Ronsen hammers the rule of thumb is that the stiffest hammer felt he uses is the Wurzen AA felt. So if you need to match a stiffer board go with these. A bit of light needling may need to be done. I installed these on a C-7 and a G-2 and I had to do a fair bit of easy needle work to get them down in the tenor /first capo. After that very little follow up. My C-7 client thanked me 3 times the first month for transforming the piano.</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">  </font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">As an unbiased opinion: the Renner Blue points (Weickert felt) can also be a good choice Joe. Theses are quite different from the old Blues. They will need needle work but so far in my limited use of these...its a different ball game.  Way less needling</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">The Ronsen Weickert felt hammer is my favorite for many pianos and for my ear produce loads of tone color easily. Last month I installed a set of these in a A-3 Steinway some else had installed a new board in. Instant music and zero voicing. Client loves it. So easy and a beautiful result. A real money maker too</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2"><br> </font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">  The great thing as many of you guys and gals have mentioned is;.... there are many hammer choices these days,</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif" size="2">  But..... only one guy making a hammer made in the old fashioned way, and that guys is in New York</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><br> </font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> Quite a storm going on here today. Better check for leaks in the roof</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Dale</font></div> <div><font color="#000080" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">  <br> </font><br> <div style="color: navy; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; clear: both;"><font size="1" color="royalblue"><b><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><font color="black"><font color="mediumblue" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Dale Erwin R.P.T.<br> <font color="green">Erwin's Piano Restoration Inc.</font><br> </font></font></font></b></font><font color="darkgreen"><span style="font-style: italic;"><b><font size="1"><font size="1" color="black"><font color="blueviolet"><font color="black"> <font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Mason & Hamlin</font><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">/Steinway/</font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">U.S. pianos</font><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><br> </font></font></font></font><font size="1" color="cornflowerblue" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">www.Erwinspiano.com</font><font size="1"><br> </font><font size="1" color="crimson" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Phone: 209-577-8397</font><br> <font color="darkgreen"></font></font></b></span></font><tt><tt><font color="darkgreen"><br>  </font><br>   <font size="2"></font></tt></tt><br> <br> </div> <br> <br> <div style="color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">-----Original Message-----<br> From: Joseph Garrett <joegarrett@earthlink.net><br> To: William Monroe <bill@a440piano.net>; pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org><br> Sent: Sat, Dec 1, 2012 9:42 pm<br> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hammers - was Brighter Yamaha<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_1_2292b017-41ed-438c-9e4d-37af57308c92"> <div> <div><font size="2" face="MS Sans Serif">I've heard that stuff, from lots of techs. Then...I went out and got the hammers they were lauding. Every time it was a royal pain in the tush. If you have to "pre-voice" a set of hammers, then, in my book, they're crap! Simple as that. I have been useing Ronsen for almost 40 years and have little problem. When there was a problem, Ray made it good. It doesn't get any bette than that. I will concede that there are certain situations that dictate a different hammer, as in, let's say Yamaha or Kawai. In that case, I know I'm dealing with a different critter and I'll get the appropriate hammer. Those that you've mentioned are not on my list, ...(yet). Perhaps, as I'll try to keep an open mind. It is difficult when I've had such good results from a company that realizes our needs and steps up to give us that. You use what works for you and the "piano tone" in your mind or the customer's mind. I'll do the same.</font></div> <div><font size="2" face="MS Sans Serif">Best,</font></div> <div><font size="2" face="MS Sans Serif">Joe</font></div> <div> </div> <div></div> </div> <div> </div> <blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"> <div style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </div> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><b>From:</b> <a title="bill@a440piano.net" href="mailto:bill@a440piano.net">William Monroe</a> </div> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>To: </b><a title="joegarrett@earthlink.net" href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">joegarrett@earthlink.net</a>;<a title="pianotech@ptg.org" href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a></div> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>Sent:</b> 12/1/2012 5:04:42 PM </div> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>Subject:</b> Re: [pianotech] Hammers - was Brighter Yamaha</div> <div><br> </div> <font size="2">Only one?  While it may be true that a number of piano manufacturers and some hammer makers continue to produce garbage, the pendulum is clearly (in my view) swinging in the favor of well-made hammers.   <div><br> </div> <div>Ronson is one, and I like them.  But instantly I think of some of the offerings from Abel, Renner Blue Points, WN&G's "Selects," or "Naturals."  And even our old friend S&S is changing their hammer making to produce something more along these lines.  True, S&S isn't quite there yet, but I find that when I need to use their hammers (the choice isn't always mine to make) they are very usable with not a great deal of "heroics."</div> <div><br> </div> <div>William R. Monroe</div> <div><br> </div> <div><br> </div> <div><br> </div> <div><br> <br> <div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 10:06 PM, Joseph Garrett <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">joegarrett@earthlink.net</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex" class="gmail_quote">Del said:<br> "I?d be happy if hammer makers would simply stick within the known bounds<br> of what wool will tolerate. It?s been known for some time now that pressing<br> wool felt with lots of moisture and too much pressure and too much heat<br> produces piano hammer shaped objects that are incapable of producing the<br> basic musical nuances we expect from our pianos yet some hammermakers?and<br> pianomakers?continue pressing wool felt with too much moisture and too much<br> pressure and too much heat forcing the stuff into something having the<br> shape?but not the soul?of piano hammers. And piano technicians continue<br> buying these atrocities and they continue recommending the pianos fitted<br> with them to their overly trusting customers. And then, when the pianos<br> don?t sound ?right,? they have to drag out every heroic voicing technique<br> in the book in a desperat e attempt to make those piano hammer shaped<br> whatever-they-are musically less bad. Bah! Humbug!"<br> <br> ddf, (Del),<br> Since you taught me I will have to say: YEAH!!!!!! What you said TIMES TEN!<br> Why is it that we, essentially only have one hammer manucturer that<br> understands that? The rest?, continue to make these BEHEMOTHS that just<br> don't work! Thank God for Ray/ Ronse Piano Hammers INC!@!!!<br> Thanks<br> Joe<br> <br> <br> Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<br> Captain of the Tool Police<br> Squares R I<br> <br> </blockquote></div> <br> <br clear="all"> <div><br> </div> -- <br> William R. Monroe, RPT<br> A440-William R. Monroe Piano Services, Inc.<br> 314 E. Church St.<br> Belleville, WI 53508<br> 608-215-3250<br> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.a440piano.net">www.a440piano.net</a><br> </div> </font></blockquote> </div>  </div> </div> </font>