Voicing

The sound, or tone quality a piano produces is a combination of many factors; soundboard construction and design, case design and materials, scaling, quality of construction – but none is more important than the hammer. The correct shape, density of the felt and how the hammer hits the string means that getting the hammer right can have a huge impact on the tone of the piano.

Voicing – the adjustment of the tone relating directly to the hammer – requires an adjustment of the hammer mechanism and matching it to the string. The process requires great skill, patience and dedication and involves filing the hammer to the correct shape, matching the hammer to the strings so that all the strings are struck at the same time, and finally needling the hammer to produce the right density in the hammer’s felt.