<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2627" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hey Joe,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Didn't mean to yank your chain.  ;-)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, I haven't gone back and read = every report on the Ronsen Wurzens, but my overall impression has been = that very little seems to be done to them--which I find amazing (a bit of = heaven on earth?).  Yet, I remember Andre writing about needling hammers--but = maybe that had nothing or very little to do with = Wurzens. (Yes, yes, I'll try them the next chance I have.)  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>OK, so back to work hardening--does it = improve bloom and sustain?  My experience is that work = hardening does not take care of those things (or it *could* very well be I've never = let it).  Anyway, the B & S (hey, I like that!) is what I'm = usually needling for, unless, of course, I'm doing my heretical strike = point act.  :-)     </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In other words, what does the maturing = of sound production involve?  Power & attack would be my guess, but = maybe there's something more going on.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>???</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Barbara Richmond</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=joegarrett@earthlink.net = href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">Joe Garrett</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, May 29, 2005 5:12 = PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> re: Wurzen = Hammers</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The current thread, about Wurzen = Hammers, was started as a query about "Work Hardening Hammers". As usual, it has = taken several turns away from the main topic! :-(</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My comments regarding the Wurzen = Hammers on the 1867 Chickering were totally misconstrued, IMO. My comments were in = regard to "straight out of the box" and not what they can be. "Straight out of = the box", these hammers were not that much different than the Ronsen Euros, = which I like. As I have been using hammers from Ronsen for over 30 years, I = pretty much know what to expect. The last few notes in the treble were weak. = I expected that. Ray presses the hammers as hard as he can, in that = area, w/o busting up/distorting the moulding. This is a GOOD thing, as it allows = the tech to bring the hammers up to an acceptable brilliance, rather than = other hammers that are too bright at the onset and get absolutely crappy = with a little playing. I hate voicing, i.e. sticking needles, consequently, = the less of that I can do and still achieve a good overall tone, the better!!!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now that the piano has been played, = (heavily), by some of my pianistic friends,<G>, the tone is really coming into = it's own. All of this w/o sticking needles into the felt and destroying the = interlock of the fiber(s)! To me that is what it's all about: With a = good scale, good board/bridge, good action and attention to detail. Needles = are the LAST thing I want to do or need, in most cases</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>But, I digress from the initial = "hypothesis" of "work hardening hammers". I believe the hammer MUST be played in, in = order to achieve it's maximum potential. How long this takes, depends on the = hammer and the piano AND it's amount of use. This "playing in" can be sped up = with my "Pounder", but this alone will not do the whole job. If anyone were to = ask me what hammer I would recommend for the maximum tone production, for a = given piano, I would say only one word: WURZEN! The cost is so very much the = same, from one set to the other, that there is no contest....Buy the best!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<BR>Captain, Tool Police<BR>Squares R I</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>