LightHammer Pianos

02/25/2026

Full presentation: Action Inertia and Center of Gravity with Ed McMorrow at LightHammer Piano.

02/16/2026

ZOOM LINK – Tonight at 7:30pm
Join us at the Seattle Chapter PTG meeting for Ed McMorrow’s presentation on action inertia, center of gravity, and how to make both vertical and grand actions perform better than new.

Click here to join:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85613274287?pwd=R3AvWkF1NHRmRE10eHN2UllJNXN1Zz09

To join by mobile phone, see the first comment below.

02/11/2026

On Monday, Feb. 16th at 7:30pm at LightHammer Pianos, Ed McMorrow of LightHammer Pianos will give a presentation to the Seattle Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild on action inertia and center of gravity.

Ed will present simple methods on how to derive the center of gravity, inertial properties, and spring loading acting upon the several components to make a vertical or grand action perform better than new.

Join us to learn how to use your hands and ears to judge how to make a vertical or grand action that plays and endures use better than any new piano available today.

01/15/2026

Sanding the soundboard of a Chase grand piano.

08/13/2025

Photo shows work on a Steinway M: new bridge caps, pinblock and refinished soundboard. Next up is installing our patented Fully-Tempered Duplex Scale, restringing with hybrid wire, and a LightHammer Tone Regulated action.

08/07/2025

Here I am working jointly with Jordan Cook on readying the Victory Steinway verticals for their museum of Flight exhibition.

Ed McMorrow and Jordan Cook, fine-tuning Frank Haude's Steinway Victory Vertical pianos for the Victory Vertical Event at the Museum of Flight. (Event details are in the link below--Join us!) Steinway & Sons, LightHammer Pianos, Arukah Piano, The Museum of Flight

https://www.museumofflight.org/exhibits-and-events/calendar-of-events/8243/victory-vertical-pianos-symposium

03/03/2025

Here is a Steinway D I am gluing a new pin-block into. The bridges and soundboard are done, and the next step is to finish the fitting of my patented Fully Tempered Duplex Scale into the plate, refinish plate, refelt plate, wax soundboard and plate finish, and put the plate back in for good. Then comes stringing, action and dampers.

01/14/2025

Cherkassky played one of the first pianos with LightHammer Tone Regulation, a concert grand prepared for him by Ed at the Seattle Symphony. After the rehearsal, Ed heard him commenting to the orchestra about how wonderful the piano sounded and played-- "I remarked to Cherkassky that it is more like the pianos he grew up with and he said, “Yes, it is.”

"Shura Cherkassky, father Isaac & mother Lydia." The Russian-born piano prodigy at the age of 14. Nov. 16, 1923. Washington, D.C.

Shura Cherkassky (1909–1995) was a renowned Ukrainian-American pianist known for his flamboyant interpretations and virtuosity. Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Cherkassky showed an early aptitude for music, which was recognized and nurtured by his family. His father was a professional singer, and his mother, Lydia, was a piano teacher who became his first instructor.

In 1922, following the upheaval of the Russian Revolution, the Cherkassky family emigrated to the United States, settling in Baltimore, Maryland. There, his prodigious talent flourished under the guidance of his mother, and he made his concert debut at the age of 11. Shortly afterward, he was taken under the wing of Josef Hofmann, the celebrated Polish pianist and director of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Hofmann’s mentorship profoundly influenced Cherkassky’s artistry, particularly his pianistic style and deep attention to musical expression.

As a child prodigy, Cherkassky gave numerous public performances in the U.S., dazzling audiences with his technical prowess and emotional depth. His early exposure to a variety of musical traditions and his innate ability to interpret diverse repertoires would later define his long and distinguished career.

10/24/2024

LightHammer Service Protocol: Speaking Lengths

In the picture below I am measuring the speaking lengths of a Steinway model M to establish a treble strikeline that is custom to this piano. I have ratios that I have found from measuring many different pianos through the years to establish optimal clarity for a piano's size.

Strike point ratios:
88-1/17 .064
83-1/15 .075
78-1/13 .085
73-1/11 .090
68-1/10 .094
54-1/9 .107

Multiply the decimal values by the speaking length to derive the distance the center of the hammer strike point is from V-bar.

Whole number fractions are approximate. They are just to inform one of the nearest ratio in easily understood values.

This method establishes a strikeline that will allow you to adjust for the varience in V-bar position from one plate to another. In the treble, a millimeter is the difference between tone and no-tone. Even if you miss the exact measurement slightly, this method allows so that when you move the action to improve the tone at 88, you won't make the tone of the rest of the treble worse.

08/01/2024

Here is the post of me right after I finished my class at the Reno PTG Convention. The piano is my BB grand I was asked to bring down to exhibit in the Rebuilders Showcase. It has my Fully Tempered Duplex Scale, LightHammer Tone Regulation, Boosted and equalized treble scale, Hybrid Wire Scale at the wound scale breaks and other little tweaks to the design.

03/18/2024

Current progress on the Grotrian-Steinweg pinblock: Shaped, fitted, and signed with the date.