I have a 1994 baldwin L. It is getting new hammers soon. All of the YouTube videos of restored Masons and Baldwins sound astringent. Now I know the cultural trend is to prefer bright-- hammers hard enough to sparkle. My preference lies within the former times of deep, rich and dark and creamy. Should I install Abel special pressing or should I order Ronsen. Weickert felt? There is a 1990's Baldwin 7 foot grand that I absolutely melt with delight when I play it. I sell Yamahas but I don't want to come home to one.

In my experience (watching Wally Brooks install these on a Yamaha C7), the Abel "special pressing" still requires a fair amount of pre-needling. This is also true with the Renner Blue Points (Weickert felt). Why anyone would want to waste their time, and arm muscles, is beyond me. Get Ronsens, by all means. I don't use anything else. I suggest that you try samples of their Bacon, Weickert, and Wurzen AA felt offerings in the piano before making a decision. I have two customers with Baldwin SF-10s and one chose the Weickert felt and the other chose Wurzen AA. If you haven't decided where to order them, yet, I suggest Dale Erwin.

The Ronsen hammers are more like the old baldwin hammers. They have three types of felt, Bacon is probably the mellowest and you most likely will have to harden the upper treble with them. They are usually my felt of choice. Be sure to taper and even narrow the width of the treble hammers to reduce the inertia of the hammer and thus the contact time on the string and thus the damping.