<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; =
charset=windows-1252">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1141" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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=antares@euronet.nl
href="mailto:antares@euronet.nl">antares@euronet.nl</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> Saturday, May 31, 2003 =
8:58
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: hammers</DIV>
<DIV>On zaterdag, mei 31, 2003, at 13:12 Europe/Amsterdam, <A
href="mailto:A440A@aol.com">A440A@aol.com</A>
<BR>wrote:<BR>> It is plausible that the =
deformation of
the hammer under a strong <BR>> blow<BR>> would flatten out this =
strike
point, so I wonder if the egg-shape <BR>> allowed the<BR>> more
efficient production of the higher partials under soft play? ie, =
<BR>> if it has<BR>> a small contact area when played =
softly,
there are less higher partials<BR>> cancelled out by the =
"footprint" on the
string, creating a more <BR>> complex spectrum,<BR>> even though =
the
softness favored the fundamental.<BR>> On a =
lacquer
soaked hammer, there seems to be little difference in <BR>> =
the<BR>>
tonal range due to shape.<BR>> Regards,<BR>> Ed Foote =
RPT<BR><BR>As you
said, "a small contact area cancels out less higher partials".<BR>What =
I find
so interesting is that STW's in particular need this <BR>diamond shape =
hammer
and change for the better if indeed we take the <BR>time and energy to =
do a
beautiful hammer shaping job.<BR>A Bechstein for instance changes for =
the
worst with the diamond shape <BR>and, as said before, the YAM's
too.<BR>Equally important is the hammer felt and what you put into it, =
or not
<BR>plus, of course, what kind of felt was used in the first place? =
and
<BR>indeed, was it 'doped', or not?<BR><BR>Antares,<BR>The =
Netherlands<BR>see
my website at : <A
=
href="http://www.concertpianoservice.nl">www.concertpianoservice.nl</A>=
<BR>pianotech
list info: <A
=
href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives">http://www.ptg.org=
/mailman/listinfo/pianotech</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> What?? The Steinways I've seen have =
always had
an egg-shaped hammer. Aren't we sposeta file trying to remove =
only one
layer of felt, or enough to remove the string grooves, without =
changing the
shape of the whole hammer (unless it's a grossly misshapen mess due to =
someone
else's botch job)? </DIV>
<DIV> And why would a Bechstein change for the worse =
with a
diamond-shaped hammer? </DIV>
<DIV> At Yamaha's Little Red Schoolhouse, they =
explained
that Yamaha purposely shapes their hammers with more of a diamond- =
than an
egg-shape. </DIV>
<DIV> Are we saying that if the felt is on the soft =
side
(Steinway, especially early ones, and even late ones, compared to =
Asian
hammers), it will compress too much on a hard blow, flattening out and =
cancelling partials, giving a dull tone, so we should file them =
to more
of a diamond shape? How do you do that without cutting across =
layers of
felt in the hammer? </DIV>
<DIV> And if the felt is dense (Asian and others) =
and
already diamond-shaped (Yamaha and other Asian pianos), then it should =
have a
richer tone because it does not flatten out and cancel partials? =
But you
said YAM's change for the worse with a
diamond shape. What do you mean, "change"? They =
already
have the diamond shape....???</DIV>
<DIV> --Confused, David Nereson,
RPT <BR><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>