of instruments we were using and the style of playing that we did. john beck it depends on the instrument you play as how it affects you. now, as a percussionist and a timpanist for my 43 years, it s not a good place to play. timpani it doesn t flatter the lower end of the orchestra. i have to use harder mallets to play in this hall whereas the same piece of music in another hall, maybe the timpanist would use softer mallets. and so i think from my point of view playing in the eastman theater was a challenge. (music) narrator each theater produces its own thumbprint of sound, clearly discernible to musicians and sound engineers. donald hunsberger of the various recordings that fred fennell made, the mercury recordings back in the 50s, there are people who recognize the sound of the eastman theater on one of those mercury records. donald hunsberger it wasn t designed as a concert hall. it s too wide, it s too high. narrator could george eastman have known that the acoustics i