Voicing down hammers

[Phil Bondi]

Hi all.

I recently met up with a set of Imadegawas that 
needed to 'whisper'. The reason for the whisper 
is because there's a player system attached to 
it, and of course, it's too loud.

I was surprised at how much Acetone and 
Controlled Steam voicing these hammers were able 
to take...but.

They're still as hard as concrete and they're 
not whispering yet. They're still too hard for 
needles. I soaked the hammers 4x in Acetone and 
steamed them 4x and 5x in the bass.

That seems like alot for any hammer to take, and 
they're still rock hard.

Any suggestions..short of changing them out, 
which is not an option?

Thanks,

-Phil Bondi(Fl)