Common questions about piano

restoration, rebuilds, and repairs

Why won’t my piano hold a tune?

 Normally, it's deterioration of the pinblock that triggers problems with tuning stability.  Time and exposure to fluctuations of humidity can cause laminated pinblocks to separate, losing their ability to hold the tuning pins tightly.  Often replacement of the pinblock is the proper repair, but sometimes the piano can be repaired adequately with lesser measures.

My piano tuner said that my piano can't be tuned to standard pitch. What does this mean?

The pinblock in many older pianos simply can't hold the tuning pins tightly enough to hold pitch at A440.  (A440 refers to 440 cycles per second for the A above middle C on a piano and is currently considered "standard pitch."  Early in the 1900s, standard pitch changed from A435 to A440 as piano technology allowed the instruments to withstand higher tensions.  Some older pianos have rusty or otherwise compromised strings that are likely to break when the technician increases tension on them in the process of tuning and pitch raise.  If the piano can withstand the added tension and the strings are in good condition, a piano can be raised to standard pitch.  The process entails rough-tuning the piano one time by raising the pitch above standard, then tuning the piano a second time for fine-tuning. 

Why replace hammers? Why and when is it necessary?

Piano hammers are the felts that strike a string to make sound and are subject to the greatest wear, much like the tires on a car.  After years of use, hammers wear out and need to be replaced.   Pianos in higher usage situations, such as in practice rooms, recording studios, or teaching studios may need to need hammer replacement as often as every 5 to 10 years.

If hammers are simply grooved and there is still sufficient felt remaining, they may be reshaped and filed in order to return them to the proper shape and hardness.  

In addition to hammer replacement, there are a number of other operations that need to be performed to bring the piano back to original factory specifications.   Parts connected to the hammers (called shanks, flanges, and knuckles) often need to be replaced at the same time.  And when a piano gets a new set of hammers, it needs to be re-regulated and re-voiced.

What is restringing and why and when is it needed?

Restringing is the replacement of the piano's strings, usually as a complete set of bass and treble strings. A piano is generally restrung when the strings lose their tone quality and resilience for a number of possible reasons.   The point at which this happens varies from piano to piano and depends on a variety of factors, including how much the piano is played, the environment in which it is housed, the quality of the strings themselves, and how they were handled (or mishandled) in installation and maintenance.

Essentially, when your piano stops sounding as deep, rich and resonant as it once did, when bass strings start to sound dead or muffled and the overall sound becomes tinny and thin, then it is probably time to consider restringing.

 
Strings can become stretch-hardened from heavy use or repeated tunings, or they can become rusty or oxidized from exposure to excessive humidity or moisture.  Airborne dust can lodge in the windings of bass strings and cause them to go dead or muffled over time. Windings of bass strings frequently come loose. Careless handling at the factory or re-builder's can cause strings to have twists or kinks in them that can ruin the string from the start. And every now and then the piano maker will get a bad batch of wire from the string manufacturer.  In addition, if a piano's tuning pins have become loose in the pinblock, it's standard procedure to replace the strings along with the tuning pins and/or pinblock. Whenever work is done on any part of the piano (such as the soundboard or the bridges) that cannot be accessed without removing the strings, all the strings are usually replaced as well.

When a piano is restrung, it usually needs to be re-regulated and re-voiced. Unfortunately, this is not always done, resulting in an instrument that does not perform up to its potential.To keep costs down, sometimes a piano will be partially restrung with bass strings only.  Most often, though, if the bass strings are bad, the treble strings will have lost a significant amount of their tone as well and should be replaced.   When pianos are restrung, technicians often recommend replacing the damper felts as well since they are generally seated to the old strings and will not perform properly unless replaced.

For more information or to schedule services, please contact Heather Martin at (901) 474-6455 or email her here.