<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2919.6307" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Ter</FONT><FONT face=Arial =
size=2>ry and
list</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial =
size=2> Just got
back from Reno. I spent all day at the Stwy& sons =
presentation.
It does appear that intelligent and thoughtful changes are being =
slowly
incoporated into parts making as my previous post =
supported. The
company has new and very expensive parts machining equipment that has =
obvious
quality enhancment benifits of action parts. They have invested =
about a
million $ a year to improve the parts division.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I =
did handle a
set of hammers at the booth that looked better and denser feeling but =
what I'm
being told by many peole using them is that many sets are still =
requiring 3
applications of 3 to 1 laquer! If thats the case I still can't jump up =
and down
about using them. My prefrence would be to start with a bit denser =
felted
hammer,meaning one that is more firmly pressed from its manufacture and
one that I can get the tone I like with a minimum or less =
than 3
applications of juice</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> . Experience tells =
me the more
juice needed to get tone the more problematic is the voicing process and =
potential for error in over juicing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> That being =
said I
really love the sound of a properly and judiously laquered =
hammer.
This is the way Steinway has always developed there sound and people =
like it
including me.There is a sound that comes thru that is a warmer, clearer =
and
more(complex) interesting(I.M.H.O.) than the hard hot pressed =
vareitys(Totally
My bias). The down side is that laquer (not plastics)voicing takes more =
time to
set up get hard and changes over time.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> That being said I'm =
going to try
a set. I like there shape, the molding and especially the amount of felt =
that
sits over the top of the hammer in all octaves but especially octaves 5 =
and
6(The money notes) I'm very familiar with the felt being used and its =
from a top
quality domestic source (the Bacon Felt company). If any of you listers =
are
trying a set remember they are a way heavier than old original sets. I =
will
still get mine unbored and will fully taper and weight prep them myself. =
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> If the piano is in the =
shop applying
multiple sets of juice is not such a big deal but if you are traveling =
back and
forth some where far it's very expensive to return multiple times to =
check on
the progress.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I always listen to the raw set =
before
applying any hardner. It's a conservative approach and it just =
makes sense
until one is completely familiar with a given product(style of
hammer).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> One last word =
concerning the
action parts is that Kent webbs portion of the presentation was one That =
is
suggesting rather loudly that one size fits all situations. =
Meaning
that a 17mm knuckle placement and the new wippens will work equally well =
for
touch and regulation on all the stwy actions. And it just ain't =
so. Any of
us who have been doing this kind of work for some time know that because =
of the
stwy actions floating capstan line that the geometry is and can be =
radically
different from action to action. Hence the pre- 1984 parts and the =
current parts
of varying dimensions. It pays to make the right choices here and that =
begins
with a thorough anlysis prior to ordering parts.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Dale
Erwin</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com"
title=mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>Farrell</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, July 10, 2001 =
4:20
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: New and improved =
Steinway
parts.BUT not the hammers!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I went to an Arlington class by Nick Gravagne about how wonerful =
the new
S&S hammers are (and other parts). If I am understanding your post =
correctly, the soggy hammers you refer to are the original hammers off =
a
S&S built at least 6 years ago? So this may not be representative =
of the
"new and improved" S&S hammers. The ones we used in class were =
real nice
right out of the box with just a little shaping, etc. He even =
advocated trying
them with any juicing to see how you like 'em. They are indeed real =
mellow
before juicing - but within the realm of a real piano hammer - =
definately
within the range for those that like that real soft, dark, mellow =
sound.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Grappling with Square-One in Piano Hammer Technology</DIV>
<DIV>Terry Farrell <SPAN =
id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:Erwinpiano@email.msn.com"
title=Erwinpiano@email.msn.com>Erwinpiano</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, July 09, 2001 =
11:13
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Fw: New and improved =
Steinway
parts.BUT not the hammers!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Rodger</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I forgot to tell you that at =
this point
in time I do not use the Stwy hammers. Yeah I know many who =
do.
Resilient felt is one thing and flabby is another and I just plain =
like to
know what I'm getting. I just changed off a set that came with =
a 6 ish
yr.old model L"The Immortal series" turn of the century style
case. Nice board no tone.Soggy hammers. I could push them all =
over the
molding with my thumb. Just my humble opinion and preference but =
I've had
trouble with hammers I had to douse with 2 to1 or 3 to 1 =
lacquer to
make tone. Often by the time the hammers start to speak it's =
hard or
Impossible to get needles in.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> However I would use factory =
hammers if
they were better but to my knowledge the presses and procedures are =
still
the same.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Enough =
said. Flame
suit at the ready.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Dale =
Erwin</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> =
<A
href="mailto:baldyam@sk.sympatico.ca" =
title=baldyam@sk.sympatico.ca>jolly
roger</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, July 08, 2001 7:50 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: New and improved Steinway =
parts.</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite" cite><BR><FONT face=arial size=2>Last =
month I
installed a new set of h/s/f. I thought they turned out OK. =
<BR>Anything
in particular you need to know about? <BR><BR>Wim</FONT><FONT =
size=3>
</BLOCKQUOTE>Hi
=
Wim,<BR>  =
;
Looking for a consensus of consistency of fit, and accuracy of
mfg.<BR>Roger<BR></FONT><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>