THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PIANO
TUNING AN OLD PIANO.
Has that piano been sitting for years?
If you love your piano have it tuned at least once a year, or it will fall into a
state of neglect, it may take several tuning to bring it back to original sound.
As a wise man said we need three things to survive, food, clothing and shelter,
anything more is a luxury. A piano is a luxury item and like your automobile,
it needs to be maintained and serviced, if you love your piano, set aside
enough money in your budget to maintain it. The average tuning cost (local
only) is 75 to 85 dollars(Tune only). Anything else is extra; Unless you call
Wards Piano Tuning and Repair. Our price is 45.00 (local tune only) 2005.
In order to keep the strings and working parts in top shape, the piano needs to
be checked and tuned every 6 months or at least once a year.
A neglected piano that has not been tuned for many years, will not hold tuning,
the strings have dropped way below A440, it needs to be tuned at least twice,
then minimum once a year or it will fall back into a neglected stage.
We can pretune a neglected piano, then wait about a week for the strings
to settle then tune it. To pretune a piano you just tighten the strings
close to 440 pitch, it will require a tuning after the strings settle.
If your piano has been sitting for many years and the tuner just tuned it, it
will probably go out of tune before the tuner leaves, depending on how much
stretch is left in the strings, or how low it is. If its about 15 cents low or
lower you are in trouble, it will have to be tuned at least twice to bring it
back. To sum it up a neglected piano may have to be tuned several times to
get that quality sound you want.
What makes the piano go out of tune? The strings are stretching continually
fast or slow, depending on how much stretch is in them.
The weather or air drafts will changes it.
The holes in the wooden tuning pin block swell and shrink many times during
weather changes. Friction changes it. We pound on it,
After the pins are moved over and over the enlarged holes allow the pins to
loosen and slip, especially in dry weather. A piano tuned (A440) has a lot
of tension on it. A bump may knock it out of tune. If the tuning pins are
loose it dont take much of a bump.
Most spinets and consoles go out of tune quicker than uprights and grands;
The short wires and light frame of the spinet will not hold the tension
nearly as well. Some spinets need to be tuned several times a year.
A piano needs an adjustment on the moving parts often(action); On an old
upright it can be done during the tuning. A spinet takes more time to
adjust because the action is down in a hole.
The grand piano is an expensive piano and costs more to maintain.
Mice and moths will get into the piano and eat felts,
If you have a used piano in good shape, consider restoring it before you
buy a new one. New pianos are expensive,and often have problems that
take years to iron out,and they need several tunings in the first three years
to get the stretch out of the strings. Piano salesmen will not tell you that.
Call a tuner and ask him to restore your old piano.
Water content in the air inside your piano can cause parts to stick, you may
need a piano heater that installs inside the frame, and also a blanket cover.
Dont turn the heat way down low then back up over and over, if you are
coming and going, this is very hard on the tuning,the wood frame,and pin
block, and will cause the piano to go out of tune quicker. Leave about 4
inches of air space between the wall and the piano during the winter.
Do not place a piano in the direct blast of either a warm air vent or a
cooling vent; Keep it out of the blast of a door which is opened from the
outside in the winter, and never put a piano near a hot water or steam
radiator.
Electronic pianos also give problems and dont sound as good as wood pianos,
if you have a problem with them they are worthless, unless you send them
back to the factory for repair.
CHECKING THE CONDITION OF A PIANO.
COSMETIC CONDITION
(How does it look) Paint condition. Wood condition, scratches, veneer peeling,
dings,broken or split places. Keytops missing or discolored.
COSMETIC LOOKS (CABINET)
The piano wood cabinet is covered with veneer and sometimes peels or has
scratches in it. Some pieces may be missing and need to be replaced. The
coating on the veneer may be old and cracked.
PIANO BENCH
Piano benches for older pianos may have been lost or are broken. They can
be repaired, new benches can be bought that match in color.
KEYTOPS
On some pianos the keytops may be missing or loose. Or they may be chipped
or discolored. New keytops can be ordered and installed.
A piano with ivory keytops may be worth more, ivory is made from elephant
tusks, or bone, you can feel the difference when you touch them. Ivory
keytops cannot be bought anymore. New keytops are plastic. It is natural
for ivory keytops to be discolored. Animal bone keytops can be ordered;
Unless you are filthy rich, you dont want to know the price.
If you are thinking about taking the keys off another old piano to reuse,
The keys are not interchangable, unless its the same brand, even then you
may have a problem, the keys are reworked for each piano on most old
models. Also you can't swap the keys around, each key must go back in the
same place.
OPEN UP THE PIANO
Opening an Upright, Console or Spinet
Nearly all pianos have a top which can be just lifted up, without removing any
screws. Some are held by a snap.
Some piano top lids (a very few) have screws or allen wrench bolts,
holding the top on, on the back just below the top.
Some lift up from the side and have pins in the hinges, these kind its best to
pull the hinge pins and set the top off.
OPEN THE FRONT PANEL
On some pianos the front panel and music desk is held by clips on each end,
inside the top, the bottom edge may be held in place by a peg.
Just unfasten the clips and lift it out.
On some uprights the front panel may swing out to a reading position when
the key cover is opened, and has a clip on each end that sits on a peg in
each end. Lift the top lid and look down in there behind the panel, if so
just lift the panel out and off.
Some pianos especially uprights, have a pin that you pull out on each end.
REMOVE THE BOTTOM PANEL.
The kickboard (panel above the pedals) can be removed by compressing the
clip(s) at the top; the bottom edges will be in peg holes or a groove.
More on opening up the piano
MECHANICAL CONDITION OF A PIANO.
TUNING PINS
The tuning pins are located at the inside rear top of the piano, and the
strings are wound around them. The tuning pins are screwed into a hard
maple wood pinblock. With age this wood becomes worn and the pins can slip
in the wood causing the pitch of the strings to drop. The only way to tell
if the tuning pins are loose is to turn them with a tuning hammer.
Pianos with loose pins will not hold a tuning very long, if at all. Repairs
involve methods that can make the tunings last much longer and save a lot
of money in tuning cost. Major repair involves;
(1) Removing and replacing the maple pinblock.
(2) Install new pins, about two sizes bigger.
(3) Install pin shims.
(4) Simple repairs are to lay the piano on its back and dope the pins with a
glue.
The glue is diluted and will drip out of a shot needle held over the pin.
STRINGS
The sound of piano strings over the years changes, they get rusted up and
dirty; They can be cleaned but they will never sound like new strings.
Sometimes they can break, which may happen during a tuning.
STRING BRIDGE
The strings pass over the bridge at the top in the piano, and the vibrations
are passed on to the soundboard; The strings go between two tiny pins in the
bridge, these pins may crack the bridge because of the sideways pressure
on them.
A cracked bridge will make a buzzing sound, or lack of tone and volume.
They can sometimes be repaired but may need to be replaced.
HAMMERS.
Hammers are covered with hard felt, the strings will wear grooves in the felt,
which feel like they are grabbing the strings instead of the strings bouncing
off the hammers. The older hammer surfaces is more flat, instead of slightly
rounded. The grooves can be filed down but after a few filings, there is not
enough felt left to file and the hammers need replacing. Which results in a
poor tone quality.
Look at the hammer rail; all the hammers should be resting on it.
Check the striking distance. Strike a key and hold it down, the hammers
should bounce back and stop about 7/8 inch from strings.
check the letoff or escapement. press the key slow, all the way down, and
hold it down, when the hammer trips back, it should be about 1/8 inch from the
string. If not, then it may need ajusting.
Its a little hard to estimate the distance if the hammers are badly wore.
GRAND HAMMERS.
The surfaces of the hammers should make a straight line across, and the
hammer shanks must not be resting on the felt rail beneath, but should be
held in position by the action parts below them.
DAMPERS
The dampers stop the strings from ringing. The felt must be soft to settle on
the string or strings to stop all the ringing. As dampers age, the felts
become hard and will not dampen correctly.
The Dampers on a piano are designed to make the strings stop ringing, so it
will not clash with another string that is ringing.
The dampers may need ajusting on your piano.
The dampers may be loose or they may be too tight.
If felts are missing they are probably down in the piano action or the bottom
of the piano. Also the damper spring may be broke or missing.
SOUNDBOARD.
The soundboard is the amplifier for the piano. located in the back behind the
harp. It is a dome shaped piece of wood with wooden ribs on its back. older
soundboards the ribs may begin to come off the board itself, and cracks will
appear in it. It can be repaired, if the sound board has lost its dome shape,
It will affect the tone and sound.
PIANO ACTION.
The action is the moving parts between the key and the hammer. There are
over 50 parts involved in the playing of one note. There may be repair or
ajustment required for some of these parts depending on the condition of the
piano. An action on an old piano that has been ajusted correctly feels and
plays smoother.
BRIDLE STRAPS.
Bridle straps are short ribbons of cloth that jerk the hammer back and will
keep the key assembly from hanging down when the action is removed.
Old bridlestraps become brittle and will break easily.
CENTER PINS.
Center Pins are steel pins under the keys that the keys rock on in the keybed.
sometimes they fit too tight or too loose causing poor operation of a key.
KEY BUSHINGS.
Worn key pin bushings in the key pin holes will let keys wobble as they are
used, causing excessive wear on the parts. They can be easily repaired.
FOOT PEDALS.
Most pianos have 2 or three pedals. The right pedal lowers and raises the
dampers onto the strings.
The left pedal moves the hammers closer to the strings in an upright,
creating a softer tone.
The left pedal in a grand moves the hammers sideways thereby missing one
of three strings, creating a softer tone.
The middle pedal on an upright piano may be used to lower a mute cloth
between the strings and the hammers, or used to lift only the bass dampers.
In some pianos it may not hooked up.
BROKEN FOOT PEDAL.
This is common on some pianos, when moving a piano the pedal will hang on
the threshhold, step, or other, instead of lifting the piano over the
obstruction, its shoved forward and broken. The foot pedals are easily
broken.
REGULATION AJUSTMENT.
A piano has about 50 parts for each key. most parts inside the piano are
cushioned with felts. Over the years the felts change size and shape. When
that happens, the parts movement is affected and the key does dont work as
easily, if at all. The piano tuner technicion, can make adjustments on the
piano so all these parts work well, and the piano is easy to play. On most
pianos a regulation ajustment can make the piano much easier to play.
WHEN TO TUNE A PIANO.
The piano needs to be tuned every six months or at least once a year.
When a piano is moved, it is a good idea to tune it after its moved to the
new location. Any banging, bumping, shaking in transit will have an affect.
BROKEN ROLLERS.
Broken rollers on bottom.
This is common on most old pianos, when the piano is moved around, the
rollers will hang on doorways, steps or other objects, instead of lifting the
piano over the obstruction, its forced forward breaking the roller.
A broken roller will do a lot of damage to the floor.
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