Steinway B's no voicing required by my ex-piano tech

[classicarts]

While he was here at my house,  my piano tech said Steinway B's and most of Steinway pianos don't require voicing because he said they use a soft impact hammers, therefore, it is really not necessary.   In fact, he recommends to owners of Steinways not to voice their pianos.  But I thought people voice their Steinways all the time, especially when it arrives at home for the first time.  Any clue as to what he's saying??

[iumonito]

That's nonsense.  Pianos are to be voiced down regularly (depending on use).  It is the natural tendency of hammers to become harder at the striking point, which gets compacted upon use.

If a tech told me something like that chances are I would start looking for someone more knowledgeable.

Voicing is a delicate art form and a bad tachnician can really do a lot of harm.

[pianopitchman]

iumonito,
The reason you are giving for a piano to be voiced is the exact reason that the tech is suggesting for not voicing this piano.  Steinways do come out of the factory with softer than average hammers.  If this piano received little or no play at the dealer, there would be no reason to voice it down as the hammers are still going to be soft. 
The reason to voice a new Steinway would be to juice the hammers and brighten the sound.  Most "Steinway" people will tell you to let this occur naturally as the piano is broken in. 
Overall, the only reason to voice the piano at all would be if the owner is not pleased with the sound.  So classicarts, this is up to you.  Don't have the piano voiced just because, but because you want to change or shape the sound.

[kamike]

Is this a new piano or was it recently rebuilt? 
It is correct that Steinway pianos come from the factory with relatively soft hammers.  The factory does recommend the application of a chemical solution to harden the felt in some cases.

If the sound is too dull due to overly-soft hammers the sound can be improved by the chemical treatment.  To my knowledge there is not harm in doing this. On the other hand, maybe this is an opportunity to learn to appreciate a different type of sound, and let the hammers break in, naturally.  But this may not happen quickly.

[iumonito]

iumonito,
The reason you are giving for a piano to be voiced is the exact reason that the tech is suggesting for not voicing this piano.  Steinways do come out of the factory with softer than average hammers.  If this piano received little or no play at the dealer, there would be no reason to voice it down as the hammers are still going to be soft. 
The reason to voice a new Steinway would be to juice the hammers and brighten the sound.  Most "Steinway" people will tell you to let this occur naturally as the piano is broken in. 
Overall, the only reason to voice the piano at all would be if the owner is not pleased with the sound.  So classicarts, this is up to you.  Don't have the piano voiced just because, but because you want to change or shape the sound.

Hi PP.  We don't seem to be reading the same:

C mentions that "my piano tech said Steinway B's and most of Steinway pianos don't require voicing because he said they use a soft impact hammers, therefore, it is really not necessary."  This is an incorrect statement.  Steinways, like any other piano, require voicing.  From what I read, the tech's comment was not limited to new pianos.

I make no comment about how they come out of the box, except to mention that the new ones I have seen recently were sadly uneven, which is the main thing you do voice a piano out of the box for.

k, laquering the hammers is truly criminal.  The piano will neverafter have a beautiful sound, due to the basically irreversible hardening of the hammer head.  One who has not the patience to let the sound develope over 200 to 400 hours of play deserves not a fine instrument.

Although, then, we are talking about Steinways.

[gfiore]

 Steinway pianos use a cold pressed, very soft hammer. The only way to build the tone in these pianos is to harden them. It is not criminal, it is a factory voicing procedure,  and the way they are designed to function. The hardening solution used at the factory is water white nitro-cellulose lacquer, mixed 5:1 with lacquer thiner. This is not the same as mixing plastics and acetone, which gets very, very hard, and produces a very brilliant tone, and is basically irreversible. The nitro-cellulose lacquer does not get as hard, is easy to needle, and in fact breaks down(softens) over time with playing.  Brand new Steinway hammers without the hardening solution would sound like cotton balls striking the strings. You could play them in for the rest of your life and still not get a tone you would recognize as a piano.