<HTML>In a message dated 7/4/2002 9:= 19:21 AM Pacific Daylight Time, antares@EURONET.NL writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT= : 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj:Re: hammers Date:7/4/2002 9:19:21 AM Pacific Daylight Time From:<A HREF="mailto:antares@EURONET.NL">antares@EURONET.NL</A><FON= T COLOR="#000040" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="= SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"> Reply-to:<A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A><F= ONT COLOR="#000040" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY= ="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"> To:<A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> Sent from the Internet Greetings Antares      very interesting post!</BLOCKQUOTE>    Your post on = this wonderful felt are recieved with open ears. Sounds like a voicers dream= . This hammer and felt must be a different animal than what is in the Americ= an Renner blues for I have not cared for that sound no matter how well voice= d. Flame suit on and Just My biased opinion.   I would love to have a resource address and phone number for the hamm= ers/ or the felt your referring to.   I've heard rumors of this type felt before. The info sounds vaguely l= ike the Russians ate this rare variety of sheep story when they invaded and = that's why mysterious wunder  felt isn't available to us now.  I d= on't mean to be cynical but really I've heard this story before and wondered= about the truth of it.   I do however think that this type of felt when it did or does exist h= as been described to me as kashmir which I think would be ideal. I'd like to= order some and have it pressed up at Ronsen.   I would find it refreshing if Yamaha and others really had such a fel= t and were able to process it without making them too hard to needle. I appr= eciate this post and any hard addresses or numbers would be appreciated by u= s all.    Best   >>>> Dale Erwin>>>>&gt= ; <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT= : 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> Let me try to make clear one thing about the Renners with Wurzen felt from<B= R> Europe : It is possible to ask for a not so hard hammer so that voicing them is a piece of cake. Allow me furthermore explain about the Wurzen felt : This was the beautiful<= BR> felt way in the past, before Russia invaded the East of germany. You see, in= the East of germany there is this small place called Wurzen and that is where they make this felt. The conditions for making felt have always been<B= R> superb there, amongst others because of the water, that's why all the great<= BR> factories like Schiedmayer, Blüthner, Steinway Hamburg, Bechstein, Bösendorfer etc. used to buy this particular felt. One can distinguish it = by looking at the sides :if you move the hammer a bit you can see the grain of<= BR> the felt and it reminds me of very expensive Kashmir shawls, and that is actually what we see : condensed Kashmir wool. The wool fibers come from the best wool in the world and the makers of the<B= R> felt have experience based on more than a century of felt making. I have voiced very many piano's. As a matter of fact, it is my daily activity. It is the most difficult part of creating a beautiful tone and that is why I have invested so much time in learning this process. On the one hand I - every time again - fear the job because it is always a<B= R> crucial moment and I always hope that the hammers are not too hard, on the<B= R> other hand, because I am on edge I usually bring it to a good end because I<= BR> have the experience and after 5 minutes know have aquainted myself with the<= BR> new hammers and know my course. For a voicing technician, the intoneur, it is crucial to not have too hard<B= R> hammers, as it spoils the pleasure. For that reason I have also invested very much time, energy and miles to find out where in Europe I could find the nicest hammer felt. When I finally found it, it gave me much pleasure and assurance that I was<B= R> not the only one deciding for this felt : as I have explained before, most<B= R> Steinway, Bösendorfer, Bechstein and Yamaha also chose for this felt at th= e same time and Yamaha makes the CFIII-S hammers in such a way that it even<BR= > takes time for the hammers to find their balance and become tough and hard.<= BR> The latest Yamaha concert hammers are the easiest ones of them all because<B= R> the (Wurzen) felt is nice, soft and gentle. Nowadays even Samick (in Incheon) buys Wurzen felt from Germany and they now= make their hammers themselves in Korea. Steinway Hamburg chooses for a somewhat harder pressing which gives the instruments a more brilliant tone from the beginning but after a few Months<= BR> of professional playing we start all over again, which (at least here in Europe) is a normal process and pretty nice for my bank account. With this story I DON'T mean to tell anybody that this is THE ONLY felt in<B= R> the world.......hey! on the contrary!.... I have no knowledge of the American felt makers and have no opinion about it either. friendly greetings from Antares, Amsterdam, Holland "where music is, no harm can be" visit my website at :  http://www.concertpianoservice.nl/ </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>