"Voicing the Renner Blue Point Hammer" with Rick Baldassin and Micheal Spreeman - Seattle P.T.G. Convention
Renner Hammers, Rick Baldassin, Micheal Spreeman and Ravenscoft Pianos...
This is going to be good.
And it was! Rick and Micheal spent 2 class periods demonstrating their voicing techniques on a new Renner hammer called the Renner Blue Point. They are the next generation Renner hammer following the Renner Blue. What's new about them? The are actually pointed but not by filing. The pointed shape is actually pressed into the hammer. They also use a special felt from the Wiekert felt company. Wierkert felt is responsible for the classic American piano sound from the early 1900's. And it's back.
As if this wasn't enough, there was a special guest that I ran into on the way to the class. It was Jack Brand, owner of the Wurzen Felt company which manufacture Wiekert felt. Jack's passion for piano hammer felt absolutely permeated the room. He gave a detailed account of the history of Wiekert, how he came to know about them, and his pursuit of buying the Wiekert company and restoring it's former production methods.
He talked about how while Wiekert was only a small percentage of the Wurzen comapny (and their only piano related felt) it required 90 percent of their R&D. What they learned from making hammer felt at Wiekert, however, improved every other department in the Wurzen factory.
Rick and Micheal apparently like the Wierkert a lot because it's the only hammer felt that makes it into Ravenscroft pianos. Their voicing techniques and friendly banter made for an enjoyable class.
Here's a photo gallery from the presentation:
