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<DIV> <FONT size=3>Bassooner</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> I was there. Who are you? You didn't sign your
name.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> Very Good description of the way <STRONG>Aris</ST=
RONG>
hammers work. Other hammers do not nearly fit this profile though
& one size fits all voicing techniques as he described for his are =
not
necessarily transferrable one brand of hammer to another without some
exploration of there latent potential initially. Know what I mean?</FONT></D=
IV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> IMO</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> Dale Erwin</FONT></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>I had a
chance to speak with hammer & bass string craftsman Ari Issac <BR>at t=
he
San Francisco Chapter meeting this month. The most impressive <BR>th=
ings
he taught me was to listen to great piano recordings, even old <BR>recordi=
ngs,
and figure out what kind of tone you like and what you're <BR>working
towards. And dont be afraid to juice the shoulders. He
<BR>explained hammers are like tennis balls- they collapse a bit on impact=
,
<BR>then spring back imparting a secondary force to the strings. Fel=
t
has <BR>to be springy while resisting wear. Juicing the shoulders ca=
n
serve to <BR>reflect more of the impact back to the string. The forc=
e is
controlled <BR>by loosening fibers between the strike point and the core b=
y
needling <BR>from the side. By the reason of the shoulders acting to=
reflect the <BR>spring force towards the srike point, the shoulders are no=
t to
be <BR>weakened by needling.<BR>We heard him demonstrate this- the differe=
nce
was impressive. There <BR>was a range of opinions as to whether or n=
ot
the change was good, a <BR>matter of taste. The subject piano had a =
new
set of his hammers, and <BR>had a very clear and complex overtone klang, w=
hen
compared with the <BR>steinway sets beside it, which was mostly fundamenta=
l in
comparison. <BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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