Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Getting a warmer tone on a piano??

When I lived in the US I was friends with a tuner \ technician who would work on my C3. He tried a solution of fabric softener and isopropyl alcohol to soften the hammers which worked great ... for about six months.

I also spent a lot of time and effort to quiet down my C3. I used strips of felt between the body and the lid and stuffed lots of towels under the piano between the cross members (?) and the soundboard.

It was still a loud piano.

I permanently solved my problem by trading it in and buying a GranTouch and then an AvantGrand hybrid piano from Yamaha. (I have a very slightly modified grand piano action married to a digital sample.)

In your case I'd consult a piano technician and get informed about softer hammers. Playing the piano will over time compress the hammers and make them harder, that's just the nature of the beast.

Here is your answer to your last question, JDRPiano:



Also, being in northern California, you are not that far from Ed McMorrow. He is at the top of his craft as a piano technician, rebuilder, tone-regulator. I'm sure there are others in your area. In terms of the longevity of any hammer voicing you may have done, it depends, I suppose, on the skill of the voicer. My instincts tell me the longer it lasts (playing 3 hours a day) the more expensive it will be initially. Having your piano voiced every 6 months, as Dave Horne mentioned, does not seem unreasonable to me and likely par for the course. But I'm no expert.

On a side note, I believe every piano owner should be happy with their piano. Life is too short not to be...

Good luck!!

Rick

Hi Mr. Rick and Mr. Horne! Thank you for your very informative responses! I looked up Mr. McMorrow and it seems he lives twelve hours away in Seattle, Washington, so that just won't do. I will consult my piano technician and see if he is able to accomplish this on my piano. Thank you all again for you responses and I will post again once the piano is adjusted and regulated!

- JDRPiano

To put this in perspective, this isn't rocket science or brain surgery ... or rocket surgery, this is just replacing your current hammers with softer hammers ... and perhaps needling them as well (to keep a consistency across the keyboard).

There will be technicians who charge fairly and those who won't. From here on out, I would ask _many_ professional players in your area who they respect and trust. Take your time and listen to professional players in your area.

once found in upper socle of the piano 50 pounds of real river sand packaged in plastic bags. Why? The lady answered that the previous tuner had assured her that this would give the piano some velvet sound

Northern CA is a vast area, but check up Erwin's piano restoration.

I'm not sure how the hammers in your Brodmann respond to voicing. They could need voicing every 6 months. I think that would be fairly optimistic if you want to move very far.

Yes, you can certainly put new hammers in. This would be the lasting solution. About six months ago I played a Yamaha C7 with new hammers in it (I think Weikert felt) and it was magnificent. It was a far warmer sound than any older Yamaha, and in many ways it was in the same direction they've moved with the Cx series. It was interesting that although it would seem softer to the pianist on the bench, it had amazing projection.

All it likely needs is voicing. I would charge at least five times as much to replace the hammers, and they very well could still require voicing.

Rich Galassini recently posted before and after videos of a Bösendorfer that had been voiced. You should listen to that. It was entitled, "Just for fun," as I recall.

BDB, I think the OP's question has shifted a bit more toward how long any voicing will last rather than the need for voicing to make the tone of the upper register on their piano more mellow.

As to how long a good voicing will last, I don't think there is a definitive answer. 6 months has been suggested as a good possibility. 3 hours of day of playing is a good bit of pounding on the hammers... a good voicing may only last 3 months under such circumstances. I think the question of the longevity of the voicing can only be gestimations...

Have the piano voiced to your liking; enjoy; see how long it lasts; repeat process.

Just my .02.

Rick

I voiced a Yamaha 20 years ago, and the voicing has lasted at least as well as new hammers as the piano nears the end of its life. It has been used regularly in a dance studio all this time, so more than the average home piano.

This would be nice. How is this done? Soft natural hammers + technique or technique alone?

Okay, BDB, for the sake of argument debate/discussion, are you saying your initial voicing of the Yamaha at the dance studio has lasted for 20 years without needing re-voicing again? Or are you saying your initial voicing of the Yamaha 20 years ago, with no additional voicing, has lasted as long as a set of new hammers would have lasted under the same circumstances?

If you are saying your voicing on that Yamaha 20 years ago has lasted for 20 years without needing additional voicing, you are not just a piano technician, you have supernatural abilities that would make you super-human, and perhaps a miracle worker.

Or, perhaps my concept and understanding of tone regulation and hammer voicing is all wrong; and I thought a good voicing by a competent tech lasting 6 months, with regular playing daily, was a stretch...

If your hammer voicing lasts 20 years with hard playing daily, hey, you're the man!!!!

All the best!

Rick

The choice of hammers by the manufacturer has always played a big role. Perhaps the reason Yamaha has recently changed their hammers on C3 grands. They are now praised for "better" tone reportedly related to softer overall tone. From my experience, pianos fitted with Renner Blue, Abel or Ronson hammers fare best in terms of lasting tone modifications. Perhaps also the reason many rebuilders use them. Of course one needs to have an experienced and competent technician to do the job, there truly are only few who are real good at that. This and regulation plus playing style of pianist will determine how long all this lasts. Most top builders seem to agree with this. They put the type hammers in their pianos expected to stand the test of time. Incidentally, we have always chosen our own pianos with this question in mind.

Norbert

Yamaha hammers and standard voicing techniques.

Brodmann [Abel] hammers and and standard voicing techniques [as per Op. ...]

Norbert

Sorry, guys... I'm from Missouri on this one; I just don't believe one voicing procedure, done once on any piano under the sun will last 20 years of hard playing without having to be repeated numerous times until the hammers are completely worn out. I just don't believe it...

But I still think you guys are the greatest!

Rick

Certain aspects do, just like certain aspects of new hammers last for 20 years. New hammers need touching up in that time, as well.