Video

Wow, I’d never thought about that. That’s an excellent point.

Hi. Thanks for your question. Most production line pianos are voiced during manufacturing and Kawai is not different. In fact, I’m my opinion Kawai goes further than most in making sure that their pianos have a good B amount of voicing fine before they ship them out. That being said, the final voicing on a piano is always done in the home. I would consult with your tech to see if any notes needs more voicing.

I was thinking about doing a needle voicing video soon. Perhaps it would help get going. Thanks for watching.

If you had actually taken the time to listen to what I said in the video you'd see that I already did that exact thing. Thanks for watching.

@the_daily_ping Doping felt prior to a thorough 'pre-voicing procedure, to include impeccably clean unisons and a fine regulation is amateur. Your decision to add hardner was made on your ride to the venue. ruining hammers 101

You can actually use this to your advantage. Dissolved in acetone, the b72 travels towards the surface. Dissolved in Everclear, the b72 doesn’t travel back.

Yeah, I use alcohol when I’m trying to get it in the core and I usually travel with the acetone for more attack and faster drying.

@@Hammondbrass thanks for the tip. I’ve only been using alcohol with different amounts of B-72 for different strengths. I’ll have to mix some up with acetone to have on hand.

@@edwardsnz hey, no problem! I usually go in through the side, just under the crown, with alcohol B72 to add power but not attack.

@@Hammondbrass did you go to Northwestern? You look familiar.

The background music in general is extremely distracting

I agree. I am a totally blind individual and I like to listen to what he is doing. The music is very distracting. It takes away from the video.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. You're right in that the spring doesn't directly cause bobbling. In this video I was really just trying to show that several issues caused the bobbling. In this case it was the knuckle bouncing off the rep lever which was ultimately caused by a regulation setup for a weak spring. Instead of tightening the spring it seems that the jack was lowered in the rep window which in turn causes the drop to be too high. Additionally the back check was also raised to compensate. The rep spring really is king.

@@the_daily_ping yeah, that makes total sense to me.

How much? What do you mean?

@@the_daily_ping I meant, what would I expect to pay a piano tech to do what you did on the video? Thanks!

Oh I see. There’s no standard price for piano services. Also, this video is just a part of the service that this piano received. Along with the hammer reshaping there was some regulation and voicing. It was a half-day service. Your best approach is to ask around for which techs are the most reputable in your area and then call and see what the going rate would be.

You’re right. There was quite a few things going wrong there. The whole action is in need of some fine regulation. It’s in a tough room too. It gets the sun every morning and then has the A/C blasting on it. Fortunately it’s not used for anything really critical.

​@@the_daily_pingthat's just one sad piano. Personally i refuse to work on pianos that has direct sun light on it. Especially if the piano is played by multiple people, like in schools. Last thing i need is to hear that i took money and didn't do the job or did it poorly, just because someone didn't used window shades.

The last sentence about regulation is voicing.. i would not call it that. Regulation has impact on the sound undoubtedly. Angle and power of hammer strike changes the tone. I would just reserve the Voicing for work on the hammers and strings.

@@LazyGryffin Yea, I don’t usually conflate those two things in conversation because they do imply two very different processes. But we’re all techs here so “Everything is voicing!” 🤣

You’re welcome! I made a Short that shows how the repetition lever and tbe Jack tender hit the let-off dowel and the drop screw at the same time. The syncing is really about having the Jack and repetition lever launch the knuckle (and by extension the hammer) at the string at the same time. The distance tbe Jack tip travels in order to escape the knuckle varies so err on the side of proper drop rather than perfect syncing. At a recent Steinway seminar the instructor didn’t care much about syncing them but he was teaching about newer pianos where regulation can still be very crisp.

Cekiclere ne vurursan deye bilersen

Hey, thanks!

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Read a book.

@the_daily_ping you , my good man need some realization. Enough from the peanut gallery.

Thanks for the sub!

You're welcome!

Thanks for your compliment! You can put a drop or two on the strike point but it’s better to start on the end of the string grooves (away from the strike point towards the shoulders) rather than directly on top. Just put one drop on each end of the strings grooves and see if the sound comes around.

Great to hear!

My pleasure!

It’s just from Amazon. It’s labeled UnitronWorld but I’ve seen this with different brands. The clamp part has rubber on the sides but I glued some felt in the extending part of the clamp as its metal and could scratch a pianos finish

@@the_daily_ping thanks for that!

@@the_daily_ping I just got mine. That must be some thin felt, there’s only 0.7mm space for it! Thanks for the tip.

I’m glad you enjoyed the video. The song there was something I made up on the spot. I’m sure it comes from somewhere but I was just riffing.

Can you explain more about syncing "tone production / bottom of the key"? Thanks.

@@the_daily_ping Play with your amount of aftertouch (by modifying blow distance, after having set perfect letoff and key depth ) , and feel when tone seems to appear exactly when the key hits the front punching . Syncing letoff/drop + this feel makes a great regulation. And don't underestimate the importance of jack position under the roller, and replever height, as it also has an influence on this clear touch pianists are looking for when playing.

Thanks for your comment Dan. It’s true that mixing the solution to the right consistency can be difficult. The premade mix from Schaffer is a real time saver. That’s definitely a good suggestion. The new thing seems to be B-72. @Chernobieeff has a great video on getting a measurable consistency with B-72. I’m going to try that out next.

Have you ever used hairspray for brighter tone?

@rogershaffer1 This method has been used, and its effect is miniscule and temporary, but the damage to the wools' resilience is permanent and irreversible

@@beethovensg what is your preference to improve power on soft hammers? I use cold pressed Ronsen hammers and they arrive quite soft

@rogershaffer1 install Renner ' Premium Blue Point Hammers, (ranging from 12lb to 18lb gross weight), made from Weikert felt, ( blended with long and short fibers) which maintain resiliency and resist deformation over long periods of heavy play. These hammers are voiced 'down' and are positively reviewed by master technicians on many different brands of instruments. They are the best modern hammer available, guaranteed.

@@beethovensg Thank you kindly for taking the time to respond. I will order a set from Chip. Back to my original question , what is your preference if you wish to voice it for a more brilliant tone?

Why?

Yes. Please explain why not. Thanks.

I believe it is because back in the day, Juicing meant something else. People would add an oil to the pin block so that the wood would swell and hold the tuning pins better. This is observed on a lot of pre-depression era pianos. The process worked in the beginning but ultimately caused the wood to contract leaving the pins even more unstable.

@@Calebos261 That’s called pin doping. And you’re right that it ultimately doesn’t work. This gentleman begging me not to do something that this particular hammer style requires is just a lack of familiarity with building tone.

I think what is possibly happening here, is the use of terms. Where I live, what ‘Daily Ping’ is doing is referred to as ‘dopping’ the hammers, but the same term oddly enough is also used when ‘Pin-tight’ is used to try and stretch the life of a piano with somewhat loose-ish tuning pins. That’s my tuppence-worth!

Hi. Sure. For a light solution I am using about 1 teaspoon of ground keycap to 8oz of acetone. I'm switching to B-72 so I'll do a vide about making solution for that soon. Thanks.

Hello. I used your recipe. My old grand piano began to sound colourfully and brightly. I thank you for such interesting and informative videos. I have no B-72 and where to buy it don't know. Thanks!

It's interesting how you burn me for "boasting" and then do the very same thing. I was mistaken though. This piano is an American made Steinway. I believe the research I did in order to make this video then will be correct. Thanks for you comment and thanks for watching.

@@the_daily_ping Where was I boasting? Boasting would have been to mention that I own both a Steinway B from 1886 and a Steinway D from 1887 and that I simply know a lot more about Steinways than you do. You didn't do any "research". That part should at least have included reading the Kehl and Kirkland book, after which you could have avoided spreading false information as you did. Defending your misinformation makes you look weak at best.

This is great. I couldn’t care less about whatever it is you’re trying to prove but all of the comments on this video are good for my channel. Your passion about being right is appreciated.

I love Mason BBs. To me they are the quintessential American piano tone. Your tech will need to do some needling which is quite different than juicing. I am putting together a video about needing hammers so stay tuned. Though, you'll get a front seat when you have your BB voiced.

@@the_daily_ping I am fortunate to live in Nashville, TN where we have some outstanding technicians. The BB got a "well" tuning three days ago, then regulation and voicing in January. The non-ET temperament is certainly more "colorful".

Yes, Just straight acetone. It takes overnight to fully dissolve the ground keytop material so plan ahead for that.

@@the_daily_ping Is that similar to B 72 (paraloid)?

Keytop material is Mae of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (I had to look that one up). B-72 is a softer acrylic that can be thought of more like a finish than a plastic. I plan on switching to B-72 when I find some locally.