I'm getting started on the rebuild of a 1902 Chickering upright (112B).

It's been a long time since I've done a rebuild, and there are a lot of options! Back in the day. There was Schaff Piano Supply, and that's all I knew.

Now with the explosion of information on the Net, and the many helpful people here are pianoworld, I'd like to explore my options with a more informed opinion.

If you were rebuilding a large, quality upright of this vintage, how would you select a hammer replacement?

Thanks in advance. I'm really enjoyed reading the many helpful posts here. It's a beautiful world.

I have a Mason CC2 9 footer. It was rebuilt with Renner Blues, but I hated their tone, so I replaced them with Abel Select Series from Pianotek. Phenomenal difference....completely opened up the tone and added the "American Complexity" I was after. Cold Pressed and need no voicing whatsoever. I would certainly suggest you consider them.

No doubt that the Abel Selects are premium quality but expensive--excellent choice tho. Another 'cold-pressed' option with Wurzen felt and also need little or no voicing would be Ronsen piano hammers. I won't know until Saturday how they will be on my M&H BB but I did put them on my Horugel G-3 and it sounds wonderful now--the hammers made a world of difference. The M&H will be back on Jan. 6th and with the regulation and new hammers should be in great shape with superb sound. I'll post an opinion after I get a chance to practise on it for a while.

I agree with the Ronsen hammers. I use them and I like them.

Abel selects, also a great hammer.

The choice for hammer should begin with what you want for sound.

Renner blues are also great hammers, but only if that is the sound you want. As CC2 points out, having the wrong hammer for the sound you ultimately want is not good. CC2 will also probably agree, it is expensive to do it twice.

I recommend spending time describing the type of sound you want and then research which hammer gives you the best starting point.

Happy New Year.
Larry

Larry is right on here. You should establish what sound you are after before you commit to a particular hammer. When I decided I wanted to change the Renners, I did so by changing both the hammer and the shank and flange as well. $800.00 and many hours of hard work later, I had the sound I was looking for. Definitely worth the time and expense to me, but it sure would have been nice if the rebuilder had used them to begin with....not that he could have known, in my case, since I did not commission the rebuild.

A previous tech (and I use that very loosely!) put Steinway hammers on the M&H and it was awful in sound as well as playing. I had asked him to put M&H hammers on but he decided he knew best and that I would be pleased--I wasn't. Matt Deffley was going to put Abel Selects on and do the work but he had a stroke and died before work could begin. Thinking his daughter would sell the hammers to my next tech, we found out she decided to send them back to Piano-Tek. So, since the Ronsen's were touted as cold-pressed (which apparently makes a big difference in sound)and excellent quality I decided to try them on the Horugel and they are great. So, that's why I decided to use them on the M&H. I'm glad Larry thinks they're good. His opinion jibes with some other very knowledgeable techs so that is somewhat comforting!

Hmmm. You have raised an important question! What sound do I want?

This is a very large upright -- 58" tall, 1200 lbs, and oh my -- I've moved it 4 times since purchasing it in 1975.

I've always referred to it as a masculine piano. Masculine, and expressive. Certainly not strident
and chirpy.

So the sound that I seek is full ... this piano wants to be heard, but round and warm. I'd be horrified to hear it produce the bright sound of a modern Yamaha, for instance.

If my poetry (or lack thereof) gives you a good clue of what I'd like to hear, please offer your additional comments on hammer selection!

Thanks.

With that description, I would say that either the Abel Selects or the Ronsens will give you what you're after. One advantage I found with the Abel Selects is their size. They are wider and "meatier" than other similar hammers. This translates to additional power, in addition to additional mass and inertia.

In general, I think that Abel's are about the best all around hammer. Just my personal opinion. I use Abels and Ronson's. The Ronson's cost a little less, and I usually use them on budget jobs. The one set of Ronson's w/Wurzen felt was a disappointment. In the end they sounded good, but it took several applications of lacquer. They seemed about like Steinway hammers. It's a good sound in the end, just not what I was expecting.

My AA Mason has Ronsens with Abel felt, possibly the best of both worlds. It sings when played softly, with no hint of distortion when played hard. They are cold pressed, and really easy to work with voicing-wise.

Ask Ray at Ronsen about them. Great hammers.

I belive Chickgrand, one of the posters on this site, has an old Chickering with Ronsen Wurzen hammers. He loved them, as I recall.

Another important consideration in choosing hammers is the condition of the sound board or "belly"

I suggest listening to the sound board with the present hammers and judging the condition based on what you hear.

Often I hear people have "checked bearing with some type of gauge". The important measurement is the sound.

It is possible that some compensations in the hammer should be considered if you feel the condition of the sound board is less than desirable.

Stieff1911,
I'm curious about your Stieff. What's it like?

My M&H will be back around 11:00 today so I'll see the results. Jerry called and said they needed very little voicing and the sound was much 'warmer' as he put it. He set the action to specs which the other techs did not (M&H specs for the BB) so it should feel a lot better as well. After I get it set up and he'll tune all three, then I can form my own opinion as to whether I did the right thing!

OK, we're on pins & needles! How'd it come out?

Don't leave us hanging!

I'm interested in hearing this too.