The felt hammers that hit the strings of your piano when you play are fundamentally responsible for the quality of tone that you hear from your piano. Along with the soundboard, they determine the characteristics of sound that you hear, and allow you to play with a wide range of dynamics and tone quality when properly installed and voiced. Since piano hammers are made of woolen felt, they, unfortunately, wear significantly from the amount of use they receive during playing, and ultimately need to be replaced in order to restore the quality of sound to its fullest potential.

Steinway piano hammers require more work to install and are more expensive than virtually any other brand of aftermarket piano hammer. These facts motivate many less experienced piano technicians to shy away from using them on Steinway pianos, hoping that another brand or make of piano hammer will produce the same results for less money and far less effort.

Steinway & Sons, however, makes absolutely beautiful-sounding pianos with their own hammers, manufactured at their factory in Astoria, NY. Through decades of experience, working alongside other Steinway techs and attending Steinway & Sons educational workshops, I have learned the complicated steps involved in installing and voicing Steinway hammers, both the version of hammer made in New York, and the ‘Hamburg’ Steinway hammer made by Renner for the Steinway pianos manufactured in Germany.  

Steinway hammers are designed for Steinway pianos. Their use eliminates any questions that might arise concerning non-Steinway parts, and, I am convinced, deliver the absolute best tone quality for your Steinway piano.  

In my more than 40 years of experience replacing piano hammers, I have consistently used Steinway hammers. Steinway & Sons uses Steinway hammers for a reason: to create outstandingly beautiful pianos. I won’t have it any other way.

I’ll be glad to set up an appointment to assess the condition of your piano hammers and advise you on hammer replacement and voicing of your piano.