Hammerheads

The Modern Piano Hammer

The modern piano hammer, like the piano itself, is a nineteenth-century invention with the design essentially the same as it was one hundred years ago. This is one of the reasons the world's finest piano makers continue to use genuine Renner hammers as they have for over a century, with each set carefully crafted to the individual specifications of each piano maker.

Selecting Replacement Hammers

When selecting replacement hammers for fine vintage American pianos, it naturally makes sense to use the best and Renner recommends its famous "Premium Blue" hammer which incorporates the original hammer designs developed early in the 20th century for pianos produced in North America. These are very resilient hammers and generally softer than the hammers produced for European pianos, but not so soft as to require the use of lacquer or other artificial hardening agents which can destroy quality felt.

The "Lite" Hammer

In addition, Renner has created a special "Lite" hammer which reduces the hammerhead weight without having to eliminate the underfelt, make the hammer thinner, or use a lessor wood quality in the molding. Renner also produces a Universal Style hammer with an infinite ratio of bass to treble hammers allowing complete flexibility for every hammer scale, including how the hammer is faced (See: "Preparing the Premium Blue Lite Hammer and Universal Style Hammer" in the Technical Manuals & Brochures section).

Premium Blue Grand Hammerhead Specifications

The Premium Blue hammer is crafted from the world's finest virgin felt, and does not contain any chemicals, lacquers, or other artificial hardeners or reinforcing agents. Underfelt is used for the proper shaping of the top felt and is standard on all quality hammers. Renner uses a special grade of underfelt in an exclusive process that allows different pressure levels to be applied throughout the entire process of pressing both the top felt and underfelt. The moldings are made from the same type of wood species used over a hundred years ago, and is carefully chosen to achieve the optimum strength-weight ratio. Every set includes 96 hammerheads to allow maximum flexibility in optimizing every scale design.

No Staples

Superior glues and modern manufacturing techniques have eliminated the earlier need for staples to hold the felt to the molding. This improves the tone and removes unnecessary hammerhead weight for a more responsive action. Premium Blue grand hammerheads are available in four basic weights and three molding configurations. Premium Blue Upright Hammers are made in two sizes, one for spinets and console models, and the other for large upright models. Moldings are made from Hornbeam.