Voicing is what piano technicians do using needles, lacquer or steam to adjust the tone of a piano by messing with the texture of the piano hammers. A voicing tool can either have a single needle or 3 of them. The needles are used at varying depths on the hammer felt in different locations on the piano hammer to get different results. Needles called sharps in sizes 6 to 9 are the most popular. It is an art and usually a skill learned after many years of practice. Carol Beigel ----- Original Message ----- From: "ramseymonoi" <ramseymonoi@...> To: <disklavier@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:44 AM Subject: [disklavier] Re: DGH1BII or U1HQ100. Which would you rather own? > This forum is highly instructive. > > However, may I ask what needling actually means ? And do you mean > that yamaha uses actual needles on their felt ? Is that a manual > process ? > > Pascal > > --- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, "Carol Beigel" <thecarolb@...> > wrote: >> >> MessageOkay, I stepped into that one! Basically, voicing is a good > thing. You are correct that needling hammers softens them and > regular piano use recompresses the hammer felts - especially in the > string grooves. What often makes a piano sound harsh and tinny, as > opposed to just bright, is that the felt in the grooves cut by the > strings is too hard and generates wild, high harmonics. A little > touch up, or sugar coating with a voicing needle can produce a > sweeter, more mellow tone in that situation. >> >> A good visual image is lobbing a 10 lb. bowling ball into the deep > end of a quiet swimming pool.You see a cannon ball type spash at the > impact, then beautiful rings spreading across the pool. When sitting > at a piano, you hear the splash, while the people sitting further out > in the room are hearing the rings. The splash can sound especially > annoying when sitting at a grand piano. >> >> The objective of piano designers is to hear an explosion of sound > upon impact of the hitting of the hammer against the string called an > impact blow. You want the tip of the hammer to be firm, but the > shoulders need to be more flexible. You open up the sound by > needling the shoulders. If the hammers are too hard the sound is > dull and harsh. >> >> Piano hammers are designed and voiced using two different > philosophies. Steinway pianos are voiced using lacquer on the hammer > felts. During some of my factory training at Steinway school, one of > our tasks was to lacquer a set of hammers to the point of ruining the > sound, then bringing it back. Yamaha uses a different method where > the hammer felt is hot pressed and then voiced using needles. For > me, the coolest control issue you can take charge of over the piano > is being able to take the voice of a piano between bright and mellow > and have absolute control of the dynamics in between. >> >> When you select a piano, the quality of the hammers is built into > the price you pay. The more you pay the greater dynamic range is > built into the possibilities of the tone. Pianos built to a lower > price usually have harder felts in the hammers and higher tension > stringing scales. This way affords getting more bang for the buck. > These hard hammers are mightly difficult to ruin - even using vice > grip pliers or steam!! >> >> Most people complain that their pianos are too loud not that they > have too limited a dynamic range. You can have the piano hammers > softened; put foam baffles both underneath the soundboard and > underneath the lid, or just change the velocity parameter of the MIDI > data to about 64 or lower. >> >> Hope this better explains "oblivion"! >> >> Carol Beigel >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Michael Weinstock >> To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com >> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 5:28 AM >> Subject: RE: [disklavier] DGH1BII or U1HQ100. Which would you > rather own? >> >> >> Hi Carol, >> >> I'm intrigued regarding a comment you made here: >> >> > If you don't like the sound of the piano, you can always have > it voiced into oblivion >> >> Should I read into that that voicing can in some way cause damage > if taken too far ? My understanding was that needling the hammers > softened their felt thereby producing a more mellow tone, which in > some cases is desirable if the tone is too bright and brassy to start > with. If voicing is overdone, would not regular piano use recompress > the hammer felts over time or is the situation not that simple ? >> >> Regards, >> >> Michael Weinstock >> Melbourne, Australia >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com > [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Carol Beigel >> Sent: Tuesday, 15 January 2008 5:15 AM >> To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com >> Subject: Re: [disklavier] DGH1BII or U1HQ100. Which would you > rather own? >> >> >> If you live in the United States, do not buy a gray market > piano. It is >> nearly impossible to get either technical support or parts. > Remember, there >> is a huge difference between a II and a IIXG. XGs are more > flexible. If >> you don't like the sound of the piano, you can always have it > voiced into >> oblivion or trade it in for one you like better later. >> >> Carol Beigel >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "uhhmmmmmmmmmm" <ronjong@...> >> To: <disklavier@yahoogroups.com> >> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 12:22 PM >> Subject: [disklavier] DGH1BII or U1HQ100. Which would you > rather own? >> >> > Thank you for the confirmation. I've been browsing through > this great >> > messageboard for more information. I think what I'm reading > is that >> > people in the know generally prefer the upright U series > disklaviers >> > over the DGH1BII baby grands for sound. I like the look of a > baby >> > grand but sound is important too. >> > >> > I am torn between the two because I can obtain a 1992 model > DGH1BII for >> > around $7900 or a 1994 Japanese Market U1HQ100 for $2900 > (both include >> > delivery costs). Which would you choose? ;) I like the look > of the >> > DGH1BII but it does cost more and the sound/tuning apparently > isn't as >> > good. Sorry to be so flaky. I've seen both models and they > look >> > great, but I'm a beginning player so I really can't comment > on the >> > action and sound. >> > >> > --Ron >> > >> > >> > >> > To Post a message to the group, send it to: disklavier@... >> > >> > To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder > and >> > moderator, send it to: >> > disklavier-owner@... >> > >> > To reach our group's web site go to: >> > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier >> > >> > THINKING OF LEAVING THE GROUP? >> > If you are thinking of unsubcribing because you are getting > too much mail, >> > go the the web site and change your email delivery option > instead. That >> > will fix the problem, while maintaining your access to the > group. If you >> > insist on leaving us completely send a blank email to: >> > disklavier-unsubscribe@... >> > >> > Know someone who wants to join? Have them send a blank email > to: >> > disklavier-subscribe@... or give them this link: >> > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier/join >> > >> > Yahoo! Groups Links >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > -- >> > No virus found in this incoming message. >> > Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> > Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.2/1223 - Release > Date: 1/13/2008 >> > 8:23 PM >> > >> >> >> >> >> >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.2/1223 - Release > Date: 13/01/2008 8:23 PM >> >> >> >> >> No virus found in this outgoing message. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.2/1223 - Release Date: > 13/01/2008 8:23 PM >> >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---------- >> >> >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.2/1223 - Release Date: > 1/13/2008 8:23 PM >> > > > > > To Post a message to the group, send it to: disklavier@... > > To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and > moderator, send it to: > disklavier-owner@... > > To reach our group's web site go to: > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier > > THINKING OF LEAVING THE GROUP? > If you are thinking of unsubcribing because you are getting too much mail, > go the the web site and change your email delivery option instead. That > will fix the problem, while maintaining your access to the group. If you > insist on leaving us completely send a blank email to: > disklavier-unsubscribe@... > > Know someone who wants to join? Have them send a blank email to: > disklavier-subscribe@... or give them this link: > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier/join > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.2/1224 - Release Date: 1/14/2008 > 5:39 PM >
Message
Re: [disklavier] Re: DGH1BII or U1HQ100. Which would you rather own?
2008-01-15 by Carol Beigel