Greetings,
A client has a 1974 Steinway B with over-lacquered hammers. The most aggressive needling techniques have fallen short of attenuating the attack brightness sufficiently for the client's taste (his hearing is very sensitive). I mentioned to a colleague that there seem to be only two options at this point: wash out the lacquer with acetone or lacquer thinner, or replace the hammers with new ones that are all the way at the soft end of the tinal spectrum (e.g. Ronsen Bacons).
This colleague suggested steaming the hammers. I have used steam successfully on inherently hard hammers (e. g., 1980's Yamahas) but have never tried it on hammers that have been hardened with lacquer. If steaming would work, it would be far less expensive and much faster than the other two options I have mentioned.
Has anyone out there tried steaming over-lacquered Steinway hammers? And if so, what were the results?
Thanks,
Alan
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Alan Eder, RPT
Herb Alpert School of Music
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, CA
661.904.6483
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