<html> <body> Hi Mark,                      Fitting/levelling hammers to the strings is no 'biggy' as far as I am concerned.  Just part of the craft.  If you want to lessen the rendering problem through the capo area, what other choice do you have? If the rendering is so bad, that unisons are hard to get stable,  there are very few choices.   Doing nothing is hardly an answer. Re engineering the forward duplex area is an unlikely option. After lifting, levelling, and fitting, the power, sustain, and  voicing will improve. String lifting is a skill just like tuning, I would hardly call it indiscriminate. Regards Roger At 10:24 PM 3/2/2006, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Roger Jolly wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Hi Ed,              Here's a suggestion that has worked for me.   Aggressively lift the strings.  I think you know what I am getting at.  The sustain will also increase, and give an overall tone improvement.</blockquote> Seems to me that wholesale aggressive lifting of the strings is certain to unlevel everything, causing plenty of voicing issues. It seems to me that strings respond variously and unpredictably to indiscriminate yanking.  Is there some way of doing this that results in level strings? Or are you assuming that the strings have never been lifted, and therefore need to have their bends sharpened, and they'll come out level because they all pass under the same capo, or something like that? Thanks. -Mark _______________________________________________ Pianotech list info: <a href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" eudora="autourl"> https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</a> </blockquote></body> </html>