TuningRepair.Com

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 Piano tuner, movers, restorers 

Orange County &  Los Angeles

PianoTuningRepair.com

Welcome to Leo's

EXPERT

PIANO CARE

for EXPERT TALK ON PIANO REPAIR

Select Topics

 

Piano Parts

Cabinet Care

All about Tuning

Standard Pitch

Tuning by Machine

Pitch Raise Tuning

Tuning "Out of Tune"

Why Tuning Often is Good

Why Pianos Goes Out of Tune

Why Some Pianos Can't Stay in Tune 

Pedals

Dampers

Restringing    

Tone Repair

Touch

12 Touch Tests

Touch Repair 

Action Check

Annoying Buzz sound

Piano Aging Symptoms

How to Revive a Piano's Old Finish   

How Humidity Harms your Piano

 

PIANO PARTS

A. Sounding Board ("Soundboard")

B. Pin-Block (Wrest plank or pin block) in which tuning pins are anchored

C. Action (consists of up to 9000 parts)

D. Key-frame ("action frame") on which action and keys are mounted

E. Cast-iron plate - bears the strain of stringing  ( up to 35000 lbs. of tension) 

F. Bridges (Bass and treble) through which vibration of strings is transmitted to soundboard

G. Braces ("Support-Beams") provide additional support to a tremendous string-tension

H. Case ("rim") into which the plate and soundboard are fitted and anchored

Many aspects must be taken into consideration regarding the maintenance of a piano. A piano is constituted of a multitude of interacting components built in a casing that activate hammers while lifting dampers to make the strings vibrate. If we dismantle a piano in pieces, we would accumulate some 10,000 parts which a little over 5,000 would come from the action.

 

The basic of the maintenance work is based around the three elements that constitute the hammers, the dampers and the strings.

 

The hammers are tied to the action of the piano that activates them from the keyboard.

 

The dampers are tied to the action and the pedals. They lean on the strings.

 

The strings are winded up around the tuning pins and tied to the cast iron frame. They lean on the bridges that transmit the vibrations to the soundboard.

 

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PIANO CABINET CARE

Maintaining the finish in modern pianos is a far cry from the old days of varnish. Varnish was ‘photosensitive’. Simply put, with sunlight exposure, the piano would get darker and darker in color. Many older pianos appear ‘checkered’ and the wood grain is barely visible. Today's lacquers, and certainly the epoxy finishes have no photosensitivity at all. However, direct sunlight has a drying effect. For the most part they are non-porous so oil based polishes will just sit on top of the finish and become tacky…a great dust magnet. There are polishes and cleaners manufactured for each type of finish. Your technician can advise you and supply you with the proper care kit. An investment in the specific polish for your instrument is certainly worth the small cost.

Modern pianos are finished with a variety of materials, from traditional lacquer to modern polyurethane’s and polyester resins. Whatever the material, a piano finish is designed to protect the wood from dirt and liquid spill, reduce the damaging effects of humidity changes, and - in the case of clear finishes - enhance the beauty of the wood.

Modern finishes are designed to do their job without the additional aid of polishes or waxes. In most cases, a piano finish is best maintained by simply keeping it clean and avoiding exposure to direct sunlight, extremes of temperature and humidity, and abrasion.

1. Avoiding finish damage.
   Your piano's cabinet, like all woodwork, is subject to expansion and contraction with humidity changes. Excessive wood movement can eventually cause the finish to develop tiny cracks and even separate from the wood. Moderating the temperature and humidity swings around the piano will help to preserve its finish as well as its overall structure and tuning stability.

   
   Locate the piano in a room with a fairly even temperature, away from drafts, dampness, and heat sources. Always avoid direct sunlight - it will age the finish prematurely and cause color fading.

   
   To prevent scratches, never set objects on your piano without a soft cloth of felt pad. 

   
   Never place plants or drinks on a piano, because spillage and condensation can cause major damage.

    

2. Dusting your piano.
   Dust is very abrasive, and can scratch the finish if wiped off with a dry cloth. To avoid scratching, dust the piano lightly with a feather duster. Alternatively, wipe lightly with a soft damp cloth to pick up the dust, followed immediately with a dry cloth. The cloths should be soft cotton such as flannel, because coarse or synthetic fabrics can scratch some finishes. Wring out the damp cloth thoroughly so it leaves no visible moisture on the surface.
    

   To avoid creating swirl marks, always wipe with long straight strokes rather than circular motions. Wipe with the grain for natural wood finishes, or in the direction of the existing sheen pattern for solid-color satin finishes.
   Because some exposed parts inside your piano are fragile, it's best to let your technician clean these areas.

    

3. Cleaning the finish.
   To remove smudges and fingerprints, first dust using the damp/dry cloths as above. If heavier cleaning is necessary, dampen your cloth with a small amount of mild soap solution. A common product is Murphy's Oil Soap, available at most grocery and hardware stores.

    

4. To polish or not?
   Before using polish on your piano, be sure it is actually necessary and beneficial. In general, most manufacturers recommend against using polishes because of the potential for damage to the finish and contamination of other parts of the instrument.

   Common household products such as "lemon oil" or inexpensive "furniture polish" should be avoided. Despite the labels' claims that they "protect" the finish or "feed" the wood, they offer no protection from scratching and can actually soften the finish if overused. Worse, they often contain silicones and oils that contaminate the wood, complicating future refinishing or repairs. Silicone is especially dangerous because of its tendency to spread within the piano, sometimes causing extensive internal damage. Avoid aerosol products altogether since the over-spray can contaminate piano strings, tuning pins and action parts.
   Once the original finish is clean, you can either leave it as is or enhance the gloss and clarify with an appropriate polish according to the finish type listed below.

   
   Care of specific finish types

   
   Modern pianos are finished with a variety of materials, from traditional lacquer to modern polyurethane’s and polyester resins. Whatever the material, a piano finish is designed to protect the wood from dirt and liquid spills, reduce the damaging effects of humidity changes, and - in the case of piano strings, tuning pins and action parts.
    

   An appropriate polish can help to restore lustre to a dulled finish or reduce the tendency of some finishes to show fingerprints. However, it should be applied sparingly and infrequently, and all excess should be wiped clean with a soft dry cloth so no visible film remains. To prevent scratching, always dust before polishing. Specific recommendations follow.

    

5. Removing a heavy polish build-up.
   If your piano's finish appears gummy, oily, or streaked, it may be contaminated with too much or the wrong type of polish. Adding more polish will not correct this problem. Instead, the finish should be thoroughly cleaned, then evaluated for any further treatment.
    

   To remove accumulations of old polish, use a cloth dampened with a mild soap solution as in item 3 above. Wring the cloth thoroughly to minimize wetting of the finish, and dry the surface immediately. Test a small area first to make sure the washing does not cause white marks or softening of an older finish.
    

   If stronger cleaning is necessary, look for a product called "wood cleaner and wax remover" at hardware or wood workers supply stores, or ask your technician for a suggestion.

    

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ALL ABOUT TUNING

 

      Standard Pitch  

 

Your piano is designed to sound its best when tuned to A-440 (A above middle C vibrates at 440 cycles per second), the international standard pitch (although the Berlin Philharmonic tune to A444, and a few of the Russian orchestras to A446).  At this pitch, power and tonal range are optimum and your piano will match the pitch of other instruments. When your piano varies from A-440, pitch adjustments are required to bring it back to standard. By always maintaining your piano at standard pitch, you create long-term tuning stability because the strings and structure stay in equilibrium. You also ensure proper ear training because you always hear your music in the correct key. 

If a piano has gone without tuning for an extended period, its pitch may have dropped far below A- 440. This means that each of its approximately 220 strings needs to be tightened considerably, adding tremendous additional tension to the piano's structure. The problem is that as each string is tightened, the additional load causes the pitch of previously adjusted strings to change. Thus it is impossible to make a substantial change in pitch and end up with a fine, accurate tuning in one step. Instead, a process called "pitch raising" must first be done, in which all strings are raised to their correct average tension levels. Likewise, when a piano's pitch is higher than standard, a pitch lowering procedure must be done to reduce string tensions to approximately correct levels.  Only then can the piano be accurately tuned. In other words, accurate tuning is only possible when all strings are so close to their proper tension that only small further changes are needed during tuning. These small changes then do not disturb the tuning of other strings.

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   How dependable are tuning by machine?

A tuning machine is a general guide only.  Fine adjustment tunings must always be done by ear. 

Unfortunately, tuning by machine often produce bad tunings. 

Tuning by machine is a lazy man's way to tuning.  A lot of incompetent tuners hide behind these machines.  Tuning by machine, particularly by cheap ones, can actually produce false results.   Tuners uses the machine for quick tuning jobs, particularly to undemanding clients who can't spot a good tuning. 

Whether a professional tuner uses a machine or not, he must be able to tune by ear and recognize correct pitch if requested by his client.

Pianos are all constructed differently, with different string sizes and lengths, and different soundboards, so there is a unique way to tune each piano.  Machines can't tell the enormous differences in sound characteristics between a grand and a spinet piano.   Only professional tuners --trained by ear-- are able to hear these incrementally minute stretches of differences.

Every make and model of piano will have different gauges and length of strings used throughout to create the same notes as in other pianos. The unique gauge and length of strings used in each piano design is known as scaling. It is the differences in scaling from one piano to another that will determine how that piano should be tuned. A tuner that is trained to tune by ear will automatically make adjustment for the differences in scaling of each piano as they work.

When a piano is in tune each note should sound clean and clear without any noticeable "twang". The twang is produced when two or three strings that make up a single note are out of phase with each other. The string that is tuned slightly higher than another vibrates faster and the sound wave produced by it will eventually "catch up" causing a wave or beating sound. This is the sound that piano tuners are trained to listen for and work wit

Tuning by ear takes years of experience to develop.  Ear tuners have toiled years on their own perfecting their hearing, and that's after having been already coached years by a master tuner.   The old saying rings true that "a tuner will only begin to understand how to tune a piano only after having tuned 1000 pianos."

Johann Sebastian Bach was an ear tuner. He gave us the equal temperament, which is the foundation of all tuning. That is why he is known as “the father of modern music.

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   Pitch Raising Tuning

Pianos change pitch for two primary reasons: for old pianos, it's humidity affecting the piano, and for new pianos, it's the initial stretching and settling of new strings.

Pitch raising tuning is recommended for new pianos or for pianos that are left without tuning for more than a year.

Old neglected pianos will sound flat across the entire keyboard as the years go by.  Year after year the  piano slowly drops its pitch, and it becomes harder for a piano tuner to pull the strings back up to standard pitch level. 

In the case of new pianos, the pitch drops quickly for the first couple of years as the new strings stretch and wood parts settle. It's very important to maintain any new piano at the proper pitch during this period, so the string tension and piano structure can reach a stable equilibrium.

When a tuner tells you your piano needs a pitch raise, he means string tension levels needs to be increased all across the board to bring the piano back up to standard pitch.  Tuners have to raise the tension of over 230 strings, each with about 160 to 200 pounds of tension, which puts a lot of strain on the piano's structure.  If the piano is allowed to go 1/2 step below pitch, it can mean a difference of 3,000 to 5,000 pounds of tension on the strings and soundboard.  Pitch raising is intense work to bring up string tension from a generally low 25,000 lbs of pressure---and sometimes even lower---to a sudden 40,000 lbs of pressure. It's impossible to make such a big jump in pitch and have a stable tuning in one pass.  So what tuners have to do is first raise all the strings to their proper average tension levels, and only then can the piano be accurately tuned.

When a key has dropped a step or more, it is good practice to bring the pitch back up to standard pitch over the course of several tunings. Raising the pitch too far in one tuning may result in broken strings. In this case, it is impossible to give a fine quality tuning, as the pitch will continually slip, until the strings stabilize. It is much better to ease up to Concert Pitch over the course of several tunings.

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      What is Tuning "Out of Tune"?

There are a couple of reasons that a piano cannot be tuned "in tune".  Understand first that tuning any piano in pure intervals is never done because all pianos are built differently.  Pianos are designed so that there are enharmonic notes, such as f# and gb. If one tunes pure intervals, these notes are actually not the same pitch, although very close. To accommodate both the design of the keyboard and the need to be able to play in all keys so that everything sounds acceptable, the octave on the piano is mathematically divided into 12 equal parts, a process called tempering. The most common type of tempering used in piano tuning is called the equal temperament. This does produce out of tune intervals. For example, perfect 5ths are not perfect but slightly narrow. Secondly, octaves are commonly stretched (or the piano will not sound right). This is necessary because the unique properties of the stretched piano wire cause the overtones produced to be sharp (higher). This property is called inharmonicity. In order to make octave tuning sound correct, the tuner must stretch the octave in order to have the higher note match the sharp overtones of the lower note. This is further complicated by the fact that all pianos have a varying degree of inharmonicity.

 

 

    Why Do Pianos Go Out of Tune?

The most frequently cited factor for pianos going out of tune is humidity. The piano’s soundboard is glued at the edges and swells up near the center. When the soundboard expands with moisture, the attached bridge pushes up against the strings causing higher tension and raising the pitch. With a decrease in humidity, the opposite occurs: the soundboard shrinks and the strings lose tension causing the pitch to fall. When either event occurs, the piano goes out of tune. Also, the more a piano is played, the more likely it is to go out of tune.

Because it is difficult to monitor humidity, we recommend that piano owners install a hygrometer to monitor the humidity of a room. This will save you time and money by eliminating the need for constant tuning. A climate control mechanism is capable of adding or removing humidity from the environment.

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       Why tuning often is good for a piano.

Brand new pianos should be tuned 6 x the first year and 4 x each successive year.  Older pianos may do with 2 or 1 tuning a year. 

In new pianos, strings need to be trained to "settle" into its correct pitch, that is, its proper tension.   In old pianos strings stretche due to the changes in season.

Frequent tunings prolongs a piano's life ----and is a less expensive route in the long run. Frequent tunings keeps the piano in shape and preserves the longevity of your piano.  It is good for the soundboard, the bridge, and the strings.  In the long run, regular tunings is a less expensive option than possibly facing thousands of dollar in piano repairs later.  

On the other hand, neglected pianos will cause strings to slip lower in pitch with the passage of time. The longer the time, the lower the pitch.  To bring the piano back to standard pitch, piano tuners have to force raise strings back up to proper tension.   The new strong tension level is very hard on the soundboard and the string.   Piano strings can handle only so much sudden stretches in its lifetime.

The above photo shows the critical cross section area of piano strings and bridge.  Think of the piano bridge as if it were New York's Brooklyn bridge  and the piano wires like the cable lines  holding the bridge.  This is an area of enormous tension, some 170lbs per string. Unbeknownst to lay people, the Brooklyn bridges actually sways back and forth by wind pressure. The same thing happens here on the piano bridge. It sways back and forth too.

When a piano is tuned, the wire is pulled in the direction of the arrow (see above). Side bearing is created as the strings pass across the bridge pins. This side pressure along with some down pressure acts to clamp the strings to the bridge to some extent even though the wires will move across the bridge pins when the piano is tuned. As the strings are pulled over the bridges under strong tensions of at least 170 lbs per string, the bridges tend to rotate forward (at least temporarily). Eventually though the bridges can roll forward permanently due to the soundboard giving up so to speak. Wood can only take so much. When this happens, the down bearing or down pressure at the front of the bridge will be reduced. 

When the bridge sways a lot, the bridge becomes loose from its soundboard and cracks develop, which then causes annoying buzzing and zingy type string sounds.  The only repair then would be a complete rebuilding.

Thus, neglected pianos can ultimately end up requiring extensive and expensive rebuilding. The best plan in any case is to have regular tunings that keep the piano from drifting lower and lower.

 

 

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WHY SOME PIANOS CAN'T STAY IN TUNE

 

There may be several reasons why a piano will not hold the tuning:

• The strings of your piano are too brittle from age, rust or stretching and keep on breaking and will need replacing.
• The tuning pins are loose from the constant tension and the regular tunings done over the years, and will need to be replaced by larger pins.

• The plate or harp is cracked and will need repair.

 

  WORN TUNING PIN BLOCK

The pinblock is worn out and can't hold the pins any longer and will need replacing.

 

Are the tuning pins too loose to hold a stable tuning? A good indication of the pins being too loose is that they have chalk marks on them, or that they are pounded into the cast plate, this was done to increase the pin torque by a tuner.

Look for at least 1/8” clearance between the coil on the tuning pin and the plate. Often the tuning pins have been pounded into the plate to increase the torque, once they have been tapped to the plate they can not go any further and would have to be replaced. Look for circles around the tuning pin of a different color than normally on the plate. This indicates the pinblock has been chemically treated to temporarily tighten the pins, this will deteriorate the pinblock, and using a larger size pin in the pinblock may not work in this case.

Badly out of tune unisons may indicate loose tuning pins, especially if tuned within the last couple of years.

If the pins are no longer holding as tightly as they once had, then you have to determine, if you are willing to spent money in the future to have the piano repinned with oversized tuning pins.
 

  UNGLUED JOINTS

The piano's structure has let go of its animal glue and it is warped; the piano will need replacing. Do not take the sledge hammer to knock the piano to pieces. A piano can kill. It has happened. There is 35,000 lb. of tension on strings!

Check the piano to see if any glue joints of the back frame or cabinet are coming apart. It isn't unusual for main glue joints in the back to come apart. In extreme cases, the pinblock of an upright piano comes unglued and the string tension pulls it forward from the back of the structure. If the frame is falling apart, the main structural portions of the piano will need complete disassembly, major woodworking, and regluing.

 

  BROKEN BRIDGES

 

The bridges are cracked or broken and will need replacing.

Hairline cracks around bridge pins are not abnormal.

Excessive cracks that cause dislocation of the bridge pins, especially on the bass bridge, are a big problem and indicate the need of a new bridge. This picture shows a broken bass bridge, and someone in the past has tried to hold it in place by inserting a couple of screws, it didn't do the trick. A new bridge had to be made.
 

If the bass sound is poor at one end and not the other, this could indicate the bridge is not attached to the soundboard.
 

If the piano has an upper bearing point of wood, check for cracks.

  SOUNDBOARD CRACKS

The traditional sound board is made of several five eights thick boards which are glued side by side across the whole inside of the piano.  It is the best sounding board, but with age, it can crack.

More recently, sound boards have been made of laminated wood, or glorified plywood.  They never crack, but they are slightly dead or muffled.  Pay your money and take your chances.

Before lifting the lid on either a grand or upright, check for cracks and that the hinges are attached or the lid may come off.
 

Although very rare, check for cracks in the cast iron plate, both in the struts and in the tuning pin area. These are extremely difficult to repair properly, and very costly. If it is an older upright piano that has this problem we would suggest not purchasing it.

Look for delamination in the bottom edge of the rim on a grand, or in the back of the top horizontal beam of a vertical piano, this would indicate extremes between dryness and humidity.

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PEDALS

 

 

        

 

 

The right pedal, or the “forte pedal”, lifts all dampers up and produces a loud sound.

 

The left pedal is called “soft pedal” or “una corda”. This pedal one moves the action in grand pianos and makes them strike two strings instead of three, therefore reducing the power of the sonority. In upright pianos, it allows the hammers to slightly come forward to decrease their movement towards the strings.   By decreasing their velocity, we decrease their striking power. 

 

The middle pedal is only used to hold the key that have just pressed on because of a special mechanism. In upright pianos, it activates either a mute made of a strip of felt glued on a bar that descends in front of the hammers, decreasing therefore considerably the sound when they strike the strings; that being the dampers of the bass section of the strings, imitating therefore the action of a grand piano. This pedal is called “sustain pedal” or “sustenuto”.

 

Squeaky pedals can be corrected by applying graphite or common dishwashing liquids.  If the pedal will not work, it's possible that some of the trap-work has broken or become disconnected.

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DAMPERS

 

        

 

The dampers lean on the strings and prevent them from vibrating after we have let go of the keys that we just pressed on. They are also activated by the right pedal, called “forte pedal” that lifts them all in one block. In a grand piano, it’s easy to see their functioning because they are apparent.

 

In an upright piano, they are placed under the hammers and are not visible. Their perfect adjustment is of the utmost importance because from them depend the clarity of the sound of the piano. If they are not well aligned to the strings, they don’t damper well enough and let the strings vibrate when they could have stopped the sound. If they don’t leave the strings all together when we push down the pedal, they won’t come back down all together and all sorts of parasite sounds will damage the clarity of execution of the pianist.

 

Replacing damper pads can often eliminate damper noise.

 

The installation, the alignment and the adjustment of the dampers are the most delicate operations of all the tuning of the action and is the most often botched up, by lack of care and concern for details.

 

Play all notes staccato (except where no dampers) to see if sound stops quickly. If not, dampers may need to be adjusted or replaced.

 

Here's another reason to replace old felts. Piano felt is made of wool. Moth larvae eat holes in the wool parts, deteriorating them quickly. The new felt components we install are treated to be moth-resistant.

 

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TONE REPAIR

(Voicing)

 

Contrarily to what the majority of people think, the tuning alone of a piano is not enough to make it sound correctly.  If the hammers are worn-out or not lined up well enough to the strings, or if the density of their felts is not equal, it will result in a tone that will vary to the striking of one note to the other. Eventually, the sound will be too shrilly or too imprecise.  The instrument will lack in dynamic; we won’t be able to do any nuances and we will have the impression that we do not have any control on our tone.

 

What is involved in piano voicing?

Before you or your technician can fully evaluate then tone of your piano, it must be well-tuned. Tuning is the first step in improving the sound of any piano and may actually provide the tone you desire. If the tone is still not satisfactory. Your technician will inspect the action, hammers and strings. If these components are severely worn, major repairs may be required before an improved tone is possible.

Next, the hammers are aligned to strike each string squarely.

Action regulation should be checked or adjusted. This ensures an even, powerful response from each key.

If tuning, hammer shaping and regulation are correct, the tone probably will be balanced but still may be too bright or mellow for your taste. If so, your technician might recommend voicing the hammers.
 

Moderately worn hammers can be re-shaped with sandpaper to remove string grooves and restore their original rounded shape.  This is not as simple as it seems.  There is a proper technique to good voicing the hammers which many piano technicians unfortunately do not practice. Poorly voiced hammers will end the life of you hammers very quickly.   ASK Leo

For a tone that is too loud, too bright or seems to die out too quickly, softening the hammers felt often is recommended. This is usually done by inserting needles into specific areas of the hammer to increase flexibility.

For a tone that is too weak or too mellow, hardening of the hammer felt may be necessary. This is usually done by filing away soft outer layers of hammer felt or by applying a chemical hardening solution.

 Once the overall tone is correct, individual notes are voiced to make the tone as even as possible from one end of the keyboard to the other. In some pianos certain notes still may sound different from their neighbors, no matter how skillfully the technician voiced the piano. This most commonly occurs about an octave below middle C, where the strings change from steel wires wrapped with copper to plain steel. Such irregularities are a result of design compromises, and usually cannot be corrected by voicing.

 

TONE REPAIRS

 

 

Check hammers for deep grooves caused by striking the strings.  This can be repaired. Layers of felt can be removed to restore the rounded shape to the hammer but eventually there in not enough felt left above the wooden molding to get a good tone.  The high treble has the least amount of felt and you can sometimes see that the felt is all the way worn through and that the wood molding is actually striking the strings.  Hammer replacement is fairly expensive and the piano needs to be good quality to warrant this work.  You can't just replace the felt on the hammers.  The felt is put on the moldings in special presses under tons of pressure.

The hammers are sanded, softened or hardened if necessary.   If the case arises, it can become necessary to replace them. The replacement set will have to be chosen with care. There are a lot of kinds of hammers that exist. Their length, size, weight and density varies depending of the instrument in which they are installed in. The precision of the boring and the respect of the angles in which they must be are of the utmost importance.

 

Only a qualified technician can take charge of such a job. One thing is for certain, the link between quality/durability is a point that will have to be taken into consideration. The hammer defines the specific sound of the piano in which it is installed by the way it strikes the strings. The striking will be determined at the time of the voicing, which consists in settling the tension of the hammer’s felt, either by hardening it with a special liquid, or softening it by pricking it with the help of one or three needles mounted on a harmonist tool. The melody of the piano largely depends on the quality of its voicing, because even in very old instruments, the installation of new and well voiced hammers can bear many defects due to the action that is not well tuned or used enough, to a cracked soundboard or in loss of crown, even to strings that have lost almost their elasticity factor.

 

 

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RESTRINGING

 

 

 

For fine restringing, I recommend the following:

 

    Step 1 / Install a new pin block

 

    Step 2 / Restringing

 

 

THE STRINGS

 

The strings make the soundboard vibrate. It is by adjusting their respective tension that we tune a piano. There are around 250 strings in a piano and the job of the tuner consist in making them vibrate in harmony. The tuning of the piano must be done at least once a year, even if the instrument is rarely used. The enormous tension that the strings exercise on the structure of the piano and pressure that they apply on the soundboard make the instrument sensible to the season changes, barometric pressure, temperature variations and humidity or airstreams.

 

Restringing can bring back the colors of your piano.  After 30-50 years strings gets worn out and restringing is the remedy.  I recommend a new precision maple pinblock for all restrung grand pianos so that you can be certain that the tuning pins will hold for the lifetime of the strings.  The pinblock is made of laminated hardwood, traditionally maple.  Sometimes the pinblock layers delaminate.  This means that the pinblock can no longer grab the tuning pin tightly.  This results in an unstable tuning, or even a piano that can not be tuned.

 

The pitch of a note is the number of vibrations per second of each string.  The pitch of each of 88 piano strings is determined by 3 factors which are called the scale:

1. TENSION on a string. (The lower the tension - the lower the pitch).
2. LENGTH of a string. (The longer the length - the fewer vibrations and the lower the pitch).
3. DIAMETER of a string. (Wrapping additional wire around a string lowers the pitch)

A pitch can be lowered 1 octave in pitch by double its string length, however, if you started with a two-inch length string, kept string diameter and string tension constant, when worked down all 88 notes, you would end up with a 22-foot upright piano.

This is why strings in the bass section are wound with wire. In the extreme bass, another wire is used around the first wrapping because a single winding heavy enough for the proper diameter couldn't be wrapped tightly enough around the center wire.

 

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TOUCH

(REGULATION)

 

  Regulation   

 

(Maintenance:  Every 2 years for old pianos, 1st year for new pianos)

 

 

What is regulation?

Regulation attends to the touch and uniform responsiveness of your piano keys, all vital to making each performance pleasurable. In addition, regulation ensures that your instrument is capable of producing a wide dynamic range -- a critical factor, particularly in pianissimo passages. 

Frequency of regulation is dependent upon amount of use, exposure to climatic changes, and the instrument's quality, age and condition. Generally old pianos need regulation every 2 years and new pianos require regulation in their first year because settling and compacting of parts sometimes necessitates adjustment.

The action that activates the hammers must be well adjusted.  A gap in the keys, the disparity in their depths or too much tension in their bushing still make the work of the action inefficient   The action itself needs an ensemble of adjustments so that all of its parts, constituted of levers and springs in interaction leaning one against the other by the intermediary of leather pieces or felts, functioning with the maximum of velocity and less friction possible.

 

What is the Pianos Action and Why Does it Need Maintenance?

When you look inside your piano, you'll find a cast plate or "harp" strung with steel and copper-wound strings over a large expanse of wood which is the soundboard. If you look closer, you'll discover an intricate system of levers, springs and hammers connected to the keyboard.

The complex system which causes a hammer to strike a string when you press a key is called the pianos action. It is a marvel of engineering composed largely of wood and wool felt. This mechanism needs to be responsive to every nuance of the pianists touch - from loud, thunderous chords to soft, delicate passages.

When a pianos leaves the factory, each of its parts is adjusted to a tolerance of a few thousandths of an inch. This process is called action regulation. Because the wood and felt parts of the action may change dimension due to humidity and wear, the action must be serviced occasionally to maintain its responsive qualities.

 

What are the signs that your piano needs regulation?

If you instrument displays a lack of sensitivity or a decreased dynamic ranges, it's a candidate for regulation. If you notice that the keys are not level (some higher or lower than the rest), the touch is uneven or that the keys are sticking, the need for regulation is indicated. However, a sluggish action or deep grooves in the hammers indicate the need for reconditioning or repair. Ask your technicians to show you what needs adjustment on your piano.

No amount of practice can compensate for a poorly maintained action. Poor legato touch, chord playing where all notes of the chord don't speak clearly, a gradual loss of subtlety in phrasing and an inability to execute quick passages or note repetitions evenly may be the fault of the piano -- not the player.

 

What works are involved in regulation?

Regulation work is the adjustment of the mechanical aspects of the pianos to compensate for the effects of wear, the compacting and settling of cloth, felt, and buckskin, as well as dimensional changes in wood and wool parts due to changes in humidity.

The three systems involved in regulation are the action trapwork and damper system. The action is the mechanical part of the piano that transfers the motion of the fingers on the keys to the hammers that strike the strings. It is comprised of over 9,000 parts which require adjustment to critical tolerances to be able to respond to a pianist's every command. The trapwork is the assemblage of levers, dowels and springs that connects the pedals to the action affecting sustain and dynamics. The damper system is the mechanical part of the piano that stops the vibration of the string when you release the key and is controlled by the key and pedal systems.

On the upright piano the key and hammer should move at the same time. Any delay of the hammer after the key is depressed is lost motion. This is quite common in even newer pianos, and is easily corrected when the piano is brought back into proper regulation.

When action parts are way out of regulation often the hammer will block against the strings or bobble hitting the strings a couple of times when the key is only played once. The backcheck is to catch the hammer from striking more than once. If caught too far from the string, repetition is compromised. If caught too early, the hammer may be blocked against the string. If the backcheck does not catch the hammer, the hammer will bobble.

The keyboard should be level (or rise slightly in the middle) from one end to the other. The keys should be square with the front keyslip. The depression of the key is called the keydip and the key should only depress so far, if the depression is too much the key will block against the string.

Play a number of keys as softly as possible. If the action fails to play reliably (i.e., skips or misses) while playing softly, the action probably needs regulating.

 

What tests can I do to determine my piano touch response needs recalibration regulation?

TOUCH TESTS:

Slowly depress a key while watching its corresponding hammer. The hammer should start to move when the key is depressed approximately 1/16th of an inch. If it takes much more travel then this before the hammer starts to move, the action needs regulation (adjustment). Excessive travel is called "lost motion".

Now repeat the same process , but this time watch the damper (the wooden block with felt on it that is located below the hammer and normally rests on the string). The damper should pull away from the string when the key is pushed halfway down.
 

Next, strike a key and watch the hammer travel to the strings. It should travel in a straight line (not moving to either side) and strike all three (if you are playing above middle C) strings squarely.
 

The "let off" or distance from the string at which the hammer is disengaged.  Slowly depress the key and watch the hammer move. It should move to within 1/8th inch of the strings and then release itself back away from the string. Wear on action parts may cause early let-off resulting in weak tone. This is always worth checking.  If the hammer did not release itself it would mute the string as long as the key was depressed.

After the point of let-off, the key should be able to be depressed a very slight further distances, perhaps only 1/16 inch. This "aftertouch" is really not a matter of touch or delicacy of sound, but insurance that the let-off is complete, and that the action is working correctly.

 

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12 TOUCH TESTS

 

A piano with poor touch response needs regulation.  Poor key touch response vexes any pianist and  prevents him from performing normally. Equally important, they hinder students in their efforts to develop technique, for many ways of playing are impossible when the regulation is faulty. A common misconception is that when a knowledgeable pianist asks the technician to make some changes in the regulation of a piano, it is because he wants the piano to be specifically adjusted to his own personal  preferences.  While personal preferences of course do exist,  the average piano is so far from being regulated in accordance with the normal, correct standards that the pianists request are usually just a desperate attempt to restore these standard, reasonable norms.

Below is a 12-step test to see if your piano needs regulation.

 

12 Piano Touch Test   MATERIALS NEEDED: 20 pennies a ruler a doctor's tongue depressor or piece of cardboard a pencil with an eraser.   STEP 1 : Jack Position and Obvious Defects Strike each note on the piano very forcefully, release it very slowly, and then play it a second time FF.  Notes which fail to play on the first blow probably have the jack too far forward, those which fail on the second probably have it set too high. Since this will be the only test in which all the notes of the piano will be struck, check at the same time for missing ivories or strings, clicks or vibrations, notes that do not function, etc.   note - It is not possible to accurately determine proper regulation of the jack without removing the action from the piano (not recommended). This test will only show profoundly mis-adjusted jacks.   STEP 2 : Weighting and Friction in Centers   Press down the damper pedal (on right) and place a stack of twelve pennies at the front edge of a white key.  Gradually add pennies, one by one, until the key starts to move down. It should take at least 13 and no more than 19 pennies to start the key moving. Check a number of different keys. Adjacent keys should not vary more than the weight of two pennies. After the key has moved down, remove one penny at a time until the key rises almost completely to its rest position. There should be an absolute minimum of 6, preferably 7 pennies left on it. Be careful not to allow pennies to fall between keys!   note - Ideally, the touch-weight of a grand piano should be smoothly graduated from slightly heavier in the low bass to slightly lighter in the high treble. In the center of the keyboard, a touchweight of about 50 grams is generally considered about right with the ends of the keyboard differing by no more than about 5 grams. Since the average penny weighs about 2.64 grams, 19 pennies is about right near the center of the keyboard, but a penny or two either way would not necessarily be considered abnormal. 13 pennies (about 34 grams) would be much too light. When removing pennies for the second part of this test, bear in mind that up weight should be roughly half of downweight, so if it takes 20 pennies to start the key moving downwards it should be able to lift approximately 10 pennies. Finally, since toughweight is to a large extent dependant on the weight of the felt hammers, excessively low touchweight may be an indication of badly worn hammers.   STEP 3 : Check striking distance   To measure the striking distance simply take a piece of stiff paper or a doctor's tongue fall depressor, measure off 1 3/4" with a pencil, and insert it between two strings until it barely rests on the surface of the hammer. The pencil mark should then be even with the underside of the string. It is even easier to measure if you if you make a notch at the correct distance. You can feel the string with the notch and observe the bottom end, which should just touch the hammer.   The distance should be within 1/8" of the 1 3/4" standard. Check with the eye to see that the hammer line is perfectly level and even. If the hammer shanks (the long arms to which the hammer heads are attached) are resting on the felt cushions below them, it is almost certain that the hammers are resting too far from the strings, as there should be a gap of roughly 1/4" between the shanks and the cushions. This and some other measurements are difficult to measure in the low bass and high treble, so it may be best to confine your checking to the middle registers.   STEP 4 : Let-off and Lubrication   Press down a key very slowly, observing carefully where the hammer stops rising and starts to fall back down. This should be 1/16" from the string, the thickness of a penny.  Up to 1/8" is acceptable for any note and for the low bass notes with single strings, even slightly more than 1/8".   Check many notes to see that this