Certainly on a good piano vodka is not indicated unless someone has already done a lot of damage to the hammers. However, for some pianos (read: Korean and similar) the top octave resembles broken glass. One or two drops of vodka right in the string grooves leaves the notes bright but gets rid of the sensation of needles entering one's ears when octave 7 is played in a room smaller than a concert hall. Also, one can even up the voicing by how much one uses on each hammer. (the gamut is from no vodka to 1 drop to 2 drops, not more.)
Additional benefits of vodka for the high treble: nothing left behind in the hammers except a textural change. Non toxic. Does not remove or shred the limited amount of felt. Can be done quickly but with accurate results once one has had some experience.
For more miserable cheap too bright pianos, vodka throughout, in varying quantity determined by how harsh the sound is, can get one into a better ball park with very little expenditure of time and money. (Still, one must remember than in excess it deforms the hammers.) Then details can be taken care of with needles, squeezing shoulders, etc. If the hammers are really flat from too much use, vodka will raise a ridge just past the ends of the string grooves, where the felt has been compressed instead of flaked off. So reshaping with a hammer file is needed.
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Susan Kline
Philomath, Oregon
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-15-2018 12:07
From: Brian De Tar
Subject: Hammer cupping
Everyone does realize, I hope, that the reason why the hammers cupped in the first place is due the the fact that when hammers are made, felt is compressed, in a press, to create the hammer. See my reply to the question about "Why lacquer hammers". In a nutshell, though, the cupping comes from the fact that, when you steam, or use vodka (one sip for the hammer, two sips for the operator, right?), the sides of the hammer are affected more than the center of the hammer, thus producing the cupping. I recognize that steaming or vodka produce quick results, but, it tends to be quite indiscriminate and not very controlled in terms of the effect. Judicious needling to soften hammers is still the best way to produce the best quality sound. Sure, needling is lots more work, but ... :)
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Brian De Tar, RPT
Portland OR
503-201-5482
Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 17:32
From: Ruth Zhou
Subject: Hammer cupping
I just have a quick question about hammer cupping.
I recently was steaming some hammers to bring them back up but I got side tracked and I ended up steaming two hammers twice (Yes dummy me). Now those hammers have now shrunk and cupped like crazy. Now those two hammers barely hit the right string in the tri chord area. Even thought I do plan to replace them in the near future, what could be done to get reverse the cupping (if even possible)?
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Ruth Zhou
Canada
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