There are a few things that should be mentioned. In 2019 I bought a New York Steinway D equipped with the Spirio R recorder/reproducer system. It was the first Spirio R model D in the San Francisco Bay area where I live. After letting my piano get acclimated to my music room for three weeks, Steinway sent their west coast tech, Mr. Luke Taylor, to do a complete concert prep on my piano. Here is what he did: 1. He used sandpaper on the bottom of the key frame and in the cabinet to completely fit the keyframe to the cabinet with no high spots. 2. He seated every string firmly down against the bridge. 3. He shaped and needled every hammer to voice the piano to my preference. 4. He shimmed the key levers to get the correct key dip. On a Spirio New York D the key dip spec is 0.4 inches or 10.16 millimeters. It should be pointed out that the Spirio pianos have a different action from the non Spirio pianos. So, the key dip spec may not be the same for a non Spirio New York D, or for a Hamburg D. 5. He tested and seated the repeat springs in the action. 6. He adjusted the back checks to set the hammer drop to spec. 7. He then slid the action back into the cabinet and adjusted where the action sits in cabinet so that the hammers strike the strings at the optimum point. A piano hammer should strike the string at a point about 1/9 of the speaking length of the string. 8. He then tuned the piano in two passes. After that, he set up and calibrated the Spirio system. Here is a video ua-cam.com/video/Ll0vLvg8Xjw/v-deo.html of my Steinway D reproducing Sergei Rachmaninoff playing his Moment Musicaux no. 4. Unfortunately, the audio in this recording is not the best, and a couple of the notes in the treble section are slightly out of unison. It should also be pointed out that in the top tier grand pianos there is no one best brand. Steinway is definitely one of the top brands, but there are other brands that are just as good. I also own a Bosendorfer 290 imperial grand, and a Fazioli f308 ten-foot concert grand. They are every bit as good as my three Steinway pianos. Here is a video ua-cam.com/video/Te3AxWKN7jI/v-deo.html of Mr. Paolo Fazioli in my home playing my f308 concert grand that his company built for me. To anyone looking to buy a good grand piano I would recommend trying different brands. Steinway is an excellent choice but look at Fazioli and some other brands and see what suits your taste the best.
They are just saying in the experience based in USA. Asia is not recommending New York Steinway but Hamburg one. Because the humanity has created a hassle for the New York Steinway as the NY ones did not have the strong larker to keep the resistance of the humanity in Asia and most of the NY went very swollen and bolt which are not ideal for the Asian markets. Be warned!
This looks like an overkill. Too much hardener. They will harden as you play. You may also file them and iron them to solve the heavy action problem and make the sound brighter and more alive. You got a set of heavy hammers that are killing your fingers at the key and killing the sound at the string. I am not saying that hardening is not necessary at all but weight seems to be at least 50% of the problem. Psychoacoustics (feel heavy due to sound) is a third order effect, not even second order, so it's not really enough of a factor.
I think I'll have to agree to disagree with Hyrum on that "No such thing as a piano too big for the space" thing. I have a friend who has a Steinway D in her normal-sized ranch house in a normal sized subdivision, and one time I hung out with her and my ears were hurting for DAYS afterward. Of course, she had the lid open like we were playing to the back seats at Carnegie Hall. If you want it badly enough and you can swing it, go for it, but no amount of money can buy back your hearing once you've damaged it. My Steinway D owner friend also swears by her trusty digital piano for practicing and composing in privacy after hours.
I didn't find this video that helpful--there should have been a before/after comparison. I have several customers with new Steinways (2 Bs and something else), early 2020s. All came from the dealer with hammers that sound like puffballs. The customers seem to like them, but there's some brand psychology going on: "if it's a new Steinway (and I paid a huge amount of $$), it MUST be great!" The problem is, they aren't, and they definitely need hardening. I think many dealers won't if they think the customer doesn't know the difference. To speak to the previous comments:" How do I know if my piano needs the hammers lacquered?" By comparing your piano to others that have it. Otherwise, you have no point of comparison. One person asked if their Kimball needs it. No, it probably needs voicing down. It does not have anything like the S&S NY hammers. And, depending on the Kimball, it will probably never sound that great anyway. (Sorry, that's the reality. Kimballs are not high-end pianos, especially anything made after the 1920s. They are econoboxes.) As to hanging new hammers on an old Steinway: No, you can't. Those old pianos used much lighter hammers. A technician who just orders some new S&S hammers (or Runners) and just sticks them on has no clue about them. That was me on my first few rebuilds, by the way. Now I know better.
Loving these videos! They make me look forward even more to the day I will (hopefully) own one :)
really enjoying this series. thank you!
There are a few things that should be mentioned. In 2019 I bought a New York Steinway D equipped with the Spirio R recorder/reproducer system. It was the first Spirio R model D in the San Francisco Bay area where I live. After letting my piano get acclimated to my music room for three weeks, Steinway sent their west coast tech, Mr. Luke Taylor, to do a complete concert prep on my piano. Here is what he did:
1. He used sandpaper on the bottom of the key frame and in the cabinet to completely fit the keyframe to the cabinet with no high spots.
2. He seated every string firmly down against the bridge.
3. He shaped and needled every hammer to voice the piano to my preference.
4. He shimmed the key levers to get the correct key dip. On a Spirio New York D the key dip spec is 0.4 inches or 10.16 millimeters. It should be pointed out that the Spirio pianos have a different action from the non Spirio pianos. So, the key dip spec may not be the same for a non Spirio New York D, or for a Hamburg D.
5. He tested and seated the repeat springs in the action.
6. He adjusted the back checks to set the hammer drop to spec.
7. He then slid the action back into the cabinet and adjusted where the action sits in cabinet so that the hammers strike the strings at the optimum point. A piano hammer should strike the string at a point about 1/9 of the speaking length of the string.
8. He then tuned the piano in two passes.
After that, he set up and calibrated the Spirio system.
Here is a video ua-cam.com/video/Ll0vLvg8Xjw/v-deo.html of my Steinway D reproducing Sergei Rachmaninoff playing his Moment Musicaux no. 4. Unfortunately, the audio in this recording is not the best, and a couple of the notes in the treble section are slightly out of unison.
It should also be pointed out that in the top tier grand pianos there is no one best brand. Steinway is definitely one of the top brands, but there are other brands that are just as good. I also own a Bosendorfer 290 imperial grand, and a Fazioli f308 ten-foot concert grand. They are every bit as good as my three Steinway pianos. Here is a video ua-cam.com/video/Te3AxWKN7jI/v-deo.html of Mr. Paolo Fazioli in my home playing my f308 concert grand that his company built for me.
To anyone looking to buy a good grand piano I would recommend trying different brands. Steinway is an excellent choice but look at Fazioli and some other brands and see what suits your taste the best.
How many drops of hardener are you applying per hammer, and is it always applied to the crown as you are doing here?
They are just saying in the experience based in USA. Asia is not recommending New York Steinway but Hamburg one. Because the humanity has created a hassle for the New York Steinway as the NY ones did not have the strong larker to keep the resistance of the humanity in Asia and most of the NY went very swollen and bolt which are not ideal for the Asian markets. Be warned!
I have a kimball upright piano, is it necessary to pre voice the keys for this piano I mentioned?
So the obvious question, how do I know if my hammers need this hardening process? Is this just personal preference?
They will harden as you play them. Keep un mind that laquering is irreversible and You can easily ruin the hammers
This looks like an overkill. Too much hardener. They will harden as you play. You may also file them and iron them to solve the heavy action problem and make the sound brighter and more alive. You got a set of heavy hammers that are killing your fingers at the key and killing the sound at the string. I am not saying that hardening is not necessary at all but weight seems to be at least 50% of the problem. Psychoacoustics (feel heavy due to sound) is a third order effect, not even second order, so it's not really enough of a factor.
very informative
I think I'll have to agree to disagree with Hyrum on that "No such thing as a piano too big for the space" thing. I have a friend who has a Steinway D in her normal-sized ranch house in a normal sized subdivision, and one time I hung out with her and my ears were hurting for DAYS afterward. Of course, she had the lid open like we were playing to the back seats at Carnegie Hall. If you want it badly enough and you can swing it, go for it, but no amount of money can buy back your hearing once you've damaged it. My Steinway D owner friend also swears by her trusty digital piano for practicing and composing in privacy after hours.
I didn't find this video that helpful--there should have been a before/after comparison. I have several customers with new Steinways (2 Bs and something else), early 2020s. All came from the dealer with hammers that sound like puffballs. The customers seem to like them, but there's some brand psychology going on: "if it's a new Steinway (and I paid a huge amount of $$), it MUST be great!" The problem is, they aren't, and they definitely need hardening. I think many dealers won't if they think the customer doesn't know the difference.
To speak to the previous comments:" How do I know if my piano needs the hammers lacquered?" By comparing your piano to others that have it. Otherwise, you have no point of comparison.
One person asked if their Kimball needs it. No, it probably needs voicing down. It does not have anything like the S&S NY hammers. And, depending on the Kimball, it will probably never sound that great anyway. (Sorry, that's the reality. Kimballs are not high-end pianos, especially anything made after the 1920s. They are econoboxes.)
As to hanging new hammers on an old Steinway: No, you can't. Those old pianos used much lighter hammers. A technician who just orders some new S&S hammers (or Runners) and just sticks them on has no clue about them. That was me on my first few rebuilds, by the way. Now I know better.
Third!!!