Free Pianos Aren’t Free — Al Tervenski

 Many of us have been in this situation before. A friend, family member, or acquaintance has a free piano. Free piano! All you have to do is move it, they say. Or maybe you’ve recently moved into a new home that “includes” a piano. If these situations seem too good to be true, it’s because they often are. Pianos are like anything else in the marketplace. Some are worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, and some are absf you moved into a house with a piano sitting sadly in the living room, the previous owners figured it wasn’t worth the $400 to move it. Why should you be stuck with it? Free pianos are often not worth taking. After moving it for $300-$400, and then pitch-raising and tuning it ($300), you’re in for $700 already! Now factor in regulation and repairs, and you’re well over $1000 invested into a piano that won’t last and won’t sound good. A piano your son or daughter won’t want to play, and

one that will just sit and collect dust.

This is not to say that sometimes a free piano isn’t a good deal. Lucky bargains do happen upon us occasionally. But how will you know if you have a lemon or a steal? Bring a piano technician with you to help assess the piano (we’re happy to help). More likely than not, you’d be better off paying for one. For as little as $500-$1000, you can obtain a solid beginner piano that will provide you with years of enjoyment. We have pianos in stock at New York Piano Works that fit this description. They are affordable, play well, and are worth the modest investment. Or, you can take a chance on a “free” craigslist or Facebook Marketplace piano. Just remember, free pianos aren’t free.

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Grand Piano Regulation | Historical Keyboards

The action of a grand piano is truly a mechanical marvel. Even though it was perfected before the turn of the last century, its remarkable design is still in use today. Although the operation of a grand piano may seem simple from the outside, inside it is in fact highly complex. Just as an accomplished athlete can make a difficult skill “look easy,” the efficiency of the grand piano action makes a very complicated set of motions seem simple. In fact, it is anything but simple.

When a note on your piano is played, the energy from your finger instantly puts a carefully balanced system of levers and springs into motion. Five pivot points simultaneously swing the combination of parts into action. Felt cushions at all contact points prevent action noise from intruding upon the music produced.

The primary reason that the action of a grand piano goes out of regulation is that the felt parts (over two dozen per note) which are so important to its functioning become worn and compressed with age and use. As this compression occurs, adjustments to the contact points which were made when the piano was new no longer are accurate. As this happens, a gradual loss of performance occurs. Lost motion in the action prevents maximum power from being transmitted from the keys to the strings when forte is called for. Early release of the hammers causes misfiring notes when subtle pianissimos are attempted. Double-striking notes become an annoyance. Although the change occurs over time, at some point it starts to become obvious that the piano is not at peak performance. Pivot Points

Regulating your piano will go a long way towards seeing to it that whoever sits down to play will find it a truly satisfying experience. The piano will perform with more precision and evenness so that the musician may lose him or herself in the music. (How nice it would be to have a guest say, “Oh, your piano plays beautifully. Would you mind if I sit here for awhile and enjoy it?”)

If other repairs are needed, is it necessary to make them first?

It’s highly recommended that all important repair work involving the action of your piano be completed before the instrument is regulated. That way, the work will result in the maximum benefit.

Hammers in a grand piano

One might compare regulating a piano to painting an automobile. If the body of a car had not been cared for in years and had taken a real beating it would make no sense whatsoever to take expensive paint and spray it over rust and dents without preparing the surface beforehand. All important body work would need to be done before the paint would be applied, otherwise both the labor and the paint would be pretty much wasted.

In a similar way, if a piano has not been maintained on a regular basis, it should be looked over carefully to determine what repairs are needed in preparation for regulating. Hammers may be badly worn and in need of replacement (see photo at right) or shaping. Action parts may need repairing or alignment. Key bushings might need to be replaced or resized. Any repair which would have an effect on the regulation process should be accomplished first, before the time-consuming job of setting adjustments is made. Otherwise, a great deal of backtracking might be necessary down the road when adjustments which were made once are thrown off by new parts or repairs.

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Basics of Piano Care | Piano Regulation And Voicing

FIRST POST! Thanks for checking out this blog page. We will be adding content every week or so, as long as we keep coming up with interesting and informative things to say.

I’d like to start by talking about basic piano care… The aspect of piano care that everyone is familiar with is tuning. Pianos go out of tune due to changes in humidity, which swells and shrinks the wood of the soundboard, bridges, and action parts. This happens regardless of how much or how little the piano is played. We STRONGLY recommend having your piano tuned twice a year. This is in line with all manufacturer’s recommendations. If you put it in terms of car maintenance (the other big, complicated machine in your life), tunings are the oil changes of piano care. It’s important to note that your piano may be out of tune and still sound relatively ok, but not be at the correct pitch. More on this in a future post. Is your piano out of tune? Find out how to determine this here.

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What work is included in restoration of piano & How do I arrange for the major repairs?

 Restoration includes the same type of work done in rebuilding, but with an emphasis on restoring the old parts to their as-new state as opposed to replacing them with new, modern parts.

If you suspect that your piano needs major repairs, have a complete evaluation done by a qualified piano technician who specializes in rebuilding. Discuss costs versus benefits of various repair options, and whether the completed piano would meet your performance requirements. Most rebuilders will provide you with a written proposal. Expect to pay a modest fee for this service. New York Piano Works charges a service call fee for this service, but if you decide to proceed, that fee will be applied to the cost of the work performed.

You may want to visit our shop to inspect other work in progress or ask for a reference list of past clients. Checking out similar jobs will give you a sense of how your instrument could be improved, as well as a feeling for our workmanship.

When you decide to proceed with major work, be sure to ask for a written contract. This enables you to know exactly what will get done to your piano and the associated costs, estimated completion date, payment method, and guarantee policy.

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Grand Piano Regulation

Grand Piano Repair

What is the difference between Tuning & Voicing?

 Every piano has its own unique sound. One might be described as 'glassy,' another as 'warm'. One might have a 'full singing' tone, and yet another sounds 'thin.' Although the original design establishes the basic character of your piano's tone, your technician can modify it to better suit your taste or restore its original tone if it has deteriorated with age. The process of modifying a piano's tone is called voicing.

Tuning is the adjustment of the tension of all of your piano's 220 (or more) strings to the correct pitch or frequency. This ensures that notes played in a musical interval (octaves, chords, etc.) will sound in harmony.

Voicing is the adjustment of a piano's tone or quality of sound. The tone can be changed without affecting the pitch. For example, turning the bass or treble knobs on your stereo changes the tone but does not alter the notes the musician recorded. A skilled piano technician can voice a piano to change its tonal personality from mellow to bright or robust to delicate. The degree of change possible depends upon the piano's design and condition.

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Piano Repair

Do all pianos need to be regulated? | Piano Humidity Control

All upright and grand pianos need periodic regulation to perform their best. The frequency of regulation is dependent upon the amount of use, exposure to climatic changes, and the instrument's quality, age, and condition. New pianos may require regulation in their first year because settling and compacting of parts sometimes necessitates adjustment.

How often is regulation needed?

Only you and your technician together should decide how frequently your piano needs regulation. Several factors can contribute to this. The intensity and number of hours your instrument is played and climatic conditions are all determinants. A piano kept in relatively consistent conditions which are neither too wet nor dry, optimally at a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit and 42 percent relative humidity, will require less adjustment.

The quality of the instrument itself also can affect the frequency of regulation. Some manufacturers decrease costs by not going over the regulation and voicing processes in the factory as much as needed. Reputable retailers sometimes do the necessary regulation themselves prior to selling the pianos, but others do not.

Also, performance instruments may require some regulation before each use, due to the higher demands placed on them.

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How Do You Arrange For Piano Major Repairs?

If you suspect that your piano needs major repairs, have a complete evaluation done by a qualified piano technician who specializes in rebuilding. Discuss costs versus benefits of various repair options, and whether the completed piano would meet your performance requirements. Most rebuilders will provide you with a written proposal. Expect to pay a modest fee for this service. New York Piano Works charges a service call fee for this service, but if you decide to proceed, that fee will be applied to the cost of the work performed.

You may want to visit our shop to inspect other work in progress or ask for a reference list of past clients. Checking out similar jobs will give you a sense of how your instrument could be improved, as well as a feeling for our workmanship.

When you decide to proceed with major work, be sure to ask for a written contract. This enables you to know exactly what will get done to your piano and the associated costs, estimated completion date, payment method, and guarantee policy.

Get detail info: Grand Piano Repair

Important Link: Grand Piano Regulation