<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html>   Bob Hull wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  Richard Brekne  wrote: <blockquote style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">  A Hamburg D is for sure one of the finest instruments in the world. It deserves pretty much the best care possible so a chang of worn and old hammers shouldnt even see any hesitation at all. The best criteria I can think of is the knowledge that that new set (if appropriatly choosen and installled) will impart a huge improvement to the sound of the instrument. I would suggest you contact some of the techs in Europe to see if they might be of help procuring a set of origional Hamburg hammers. Would the "original" hammers you speak of be different than what you would get if you ordered Hamburg hammers from the Steinway parts dept. in New York?  Also, does the Hamburg hammer require the same or similar building tone process as the New York Steinway hammer through lacquer or keytop/acetone solution?</blockquote> </blockquote> The hammers used in Hamburg Steinways are not meant to be lacquered. The tone building process is the more traditional needling and fine shaping method. You probably have to  use a bit of hardner on the top few notes, and perhaps a bit in the bass. I am unsure of whether or not the NY office will supply you with what goes on the grands here in Europe. Cheers RicB -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. UiB, Bergen, Norway <A HREF="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A> <A HREF="http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html">http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html</A> <A HREF="http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html">http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html</A>  </html>