Piano Tuning  

Fine piano tuning is a combination of technical and artistic skill. Becoming a highly skilled piano technician is much like becoming a highly skilled musician.  It takes knowledge, practice, and experience. With over 200 strings in your piano, each at over 100 pounds of tension, tuning your instrument frequently will ensure that it remains at the factory prescribed level, typically A 440.  

It is a preventative maintenance.  

Pitch Adjustment or Pitch Raise   

A piano that has been recently moved or neglected for a long time might not initially be able to accommodate a standard tuning service.  Bringing a piano in this condition up to pitch will add thousands of pounds of additional tension, requiring extra time and expense to accomplish. In the worst cases it may require another visit within a short amount of time before being stable.

Regulation   

A properly regulated piano produces:

• A keyboard that feels uniform from note to note.
• A keyboard that is responsive to rapid-fire fingerings and clean phrasings.
• A keyboard that commands a broad dynamic range.
• A keyboard that allows the player to express themselves completely.

 What is involved in a piano regulation? (Partial List)

• Alignments - Strings to hammers; whippens to knuckles; jacks in windows; jacks to knuckles; repetition lever height; back checks to hammers.
• Blow distance, let off, drop, back check, butterfly springs, and after touch set.
• Tune - Pitch set to A 440 (if possible).
• Regulate Back Action - Check damper lift off key sticks; check damper timing and lift off tray; adjust lost motion in damper pedal.
• Regulate Shift/Soft Pedal.
• Regulate Sostenuto Function and Pedal.

Voicing  

Every piano has its own unique tonal characteristics. Many of those qualities are due to the engineering in the scale and sound board design. However, it is your piano’s hammers that permit these integral designs to bloom. The hammers are one of the major components that give a piano its own distinctive voice. Voicing involves the manipulation of hammer felt and other mechanical components in order to build and optimize the tonal spectrum inherent in the piano.  If when speaking to your technician you mention that your piano sounds too bright, dark, loud, soft, sharp, dull, brittle, deep, woody, uneven, or dead you could benefit from voicing.

Piano Repairs

A Partial List of Typical Repairs for Grands and Uprights:

• Broken Strings – Splicing & Replacing.
• Sticky Keys.
• Sluggish Action Parts.
• Loose Action Parts.
• Fractured Key Sticks.
• Hammer Reshaping.
• Broken or Problematic Hammer Shanks.
• Noises – Buzzes, Rattles, and Clicks Diagnostics.
• Pedal Issues – Damping, Shifting, Sostenuto, and Pedal Trap.
• Damper Troubles - After-ring, Swooshing, Over Damping.
• Malfunctioning Notes.
• Glue Joint Failure.
• Artist Bench Problems.
• Full Service Visits Available.

Piano Cleaning

Over the years, pianos – like other valuable furniture – collect dust. However, pianos are much more difficult to clean than normal household items. Properly cleaning the piano not only requires the correct tools, but the expertise and knowledge to do so. The end result is a longer life and a fuller, more beautiful sound from the instrument. Whether simply cleaning the keys, or a deep cleaning involving removing cabinet parts, action and keys, we have the level of cleaning that is right for you and your piano.