When does a piano need reconditioning or rebuilding? | Piano Finish Repair

Most pianos can be played for many years without major repairs. However, the tone, touch, and appearance will continually decline with age. When regular maintenance such as cleaning, regulating, voicing, and tuning can no longer provide satisfactory performance, a piano may require reconditioning or rebuilding.

Exactly when a piano needs rebuilding or reconditioning depends on its original quality, the climate, usage, and performance requirements. One piano may need rebuilding after just twenty years, while another may need only reconditioning after fifty years. The best way to decide is to seek out a qualified piano rebuilder with the judgment, experience, and expertise to advise you on such an important decision. If your Registered Piano Technician does not offer rebuilding services, ask for referrals.

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Why does a piano's pitch change? | Piano Regulation And Voicing

Piano strings change pitch for two primary reasons: the initial stretching and settling of strings when the piano is new, and soundboard movement due to humidity variation. 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. (Most piano manufacturers recommend three to four tunings the first year, and at least two per year after that.)

Aside from this initial settling, climate change is the main cause of pitch change. That's because the piano's main acoustical structure -- the soundboard -- is made of wood. While wooden soundboards produce a wonderful sound, they also react constantly to climate changes. As the relative humidity goes up, the soundboard swells, increasing its crowned shape and stretching the piano's strings to a higher pitch. Then during dry times, the soundboard flattens out, lowering tension on the strings and causing the pitch to drop. The drop in the dry season tends to exceed the rise during humid times, so the net result is a drop in pitch each year that the piano isn't serviced.

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Action Regulation | Piano Regulation

What is regulation and how does it affect my piano's performance?

Regulation 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.

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Is Your Piano Out of Tune? | Grand Piano Repair

 For the piano owner who wants to maintain his / her piano but doesn't want to throw good money

away on work that's unnecessary, the question of whether or not the piano needs to be tuned is an
important one. As a responsible owner you would like your piano to sound its best, especially if
children are taking lessons on it. A piano that is in tune will invite one to play, even when the
music is on a beginner's level. A piano that is out of tune will discourage even an avid student
from sitting down to practice. So, as a non-technician, how do you know if your piano is out of
tune and needs the attention of a tuner? Fortunately, you don't need to be a technician or an
accomplished piano player to be able to decide whether or not your instrument need to be tuned.
Apply the following 4 basic tests to your own piano and you will know whether it is in tune or out
of tune. If it is out of tune, it's time to call your tuner / technician to schedule a service
appointment.
Test I: Is your piano at the correct pitch? Whether or not a piano is at the correct pitch
depends on the vibration rate of test notes and how they compare to a standard rate of vibration.
One commonly used test note is that ofA-440 (known as A4) which refers to the A in octave above
middle C. When in tune, this note vibrates at a rate of 440 times per second. This is an important
measure of whether your piano is in tune and is something you can easily check first.
(The reason this is important is because a piano that is either noticeably flat or sharp will not
be as pleasant to play as a piano that is set at the correct pitch.
The further flat a piano is, the less musical it will sound. If the tension on the strings is too
low, the vibrancy of the strings will have decreased along with the pitch. A piano that is
noticeably sharp is no better, in that it will not match other instruments, and will sound off to
people trying to sing or play along with it.)
Test: To see if your piano is at standard pitch you need to compare it to an accurate refer- ence,
such as the tuning fork shown at left. If you don't have a tuning fork handy for use but you do
have a computer with attached speakers try going online at www.onlinetuningforKcom . The middle
tuning fork in the online picture is A-440. Click it
for the correct tone, then compare that to A4 on your piano.
Helpful hint: If your computer is in one room and your piano in another, try humming the tone in
between the two locations. Strike the A in the center of keyboard (photo) to see if the tones
match. If your piano is either noticeably flat or sharp, it's not as musical as it should be.

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