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<DIV>In a message dated 4/20/2004 6:38:25 AM Pacific Standard Time, jkanter@=
rollingball.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue =
2px solid"><FONT face=Arial>Thanks. I'd love to hear from others. Ari Isaa=
c says:<BR><BR>Pushing needles into the shoulders rips the fibres, hence the=
puffing out of<BR>a heavily needled hammer. This means that when you =
push needles into the<BR>shoulder radially you lose control. Since eve=
ry set of hammers is<BR>different, one can never tell how much energy is los=
t when needles puncture<BR>the shoulders. The more the shoulders are p=
unctured - the more energy and<BR>the more control is lost. This is ne=
ither an efficient nor a safe way of<BR>voicing.<BR><BR>To what extent do an=
y of you agree/disagree with this?<BR>I can certainly see the danger of dama=
ging the hammershank pinning with<BR>sideways pressure, and I imagine that t=
his technique calls for a specialized<BR>plier-type tool. Does this danger o=
utweigh the benefits, as Corte suggests?<BR><BR>Jason</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></D=
IV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG> Jason</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG> Don't believe everything flks tell you bu=
t try it out for your self. Although I agree with most of what Ric said ther=
e many occasions when side voicing renders an effect that is very beneficial=
to fundamental production especially in the bass & lower tenor. Side vo=
icings effectiveness may also be used in conjunction to the usual techniques=
.</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG> Try this. Next time you=
're at a piano with a clangy bass remove the offending hammer(unscrew it) &n=
bsp;and lay it on its side on something soft then jab it a few times o=
r many over & around the top of the molding. The stiffer it is the more =
you jab. You can't ruin it. Jab all the way thru 6 to 12 times or so, r=
e- install & listen to the bottom end come forth. At that point switchin=
g to radial needling may help even more. All voicing techs. ar useful in dif=
ferent situations & with different types of hammers. I sold Isaac hammer=
s v</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG>for years but I could not produce all the "magic=
" I wanted with this one technique alone. It's a fine hammer by the way</STR=
ONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG> Dale</STRONG></FONT></DIV></BODY></=
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