Quality manufacturer technical manuals are rare. For one reason, they are difficult and time consuming to create. For another reason, certain techniques are common to all pianos and many manufacturers just simply assume technicians know all the steps. However that can be a dangerous assumption. Here are a couple technical manuals from Steinway and Kawai. […]
Regulation
What’s A Wippen?
A wippen is the heart and soul of the grand piano action. With some aspects of piano design and construction there is a wealth of variety but not so much anymore with the wippen. The top two wippens in the photo represent the most fundamental designs (yes, you nit pickers there are more, but these […]
Your piano needs regulation
Pianos are complicated. The piano action is made primarily wood and felt. While both of these materials have great advantages for piano building, they have some very distinct shortcomings for which regular compensation must be made. While wood is relatively stable if the humidity is kept steady, felt is very susceptible to compression and compacting […]
You Must Have a Good Ear…
I’ve been told that I must have a good ear, usually by someone I’ve just met who has learned that I’m a piano technician, and I’ve always wondered exactly what it meant. Piano tuners do train themselves to hear components of piano tone, usually called partials or harmonics. These are pitches within pitches (the g […]
Piano Care
A high end piano, while weighing hundreds of pounds, is actually quite a delicate item. The 2 biggest dangers are swings in humidity and improper servicing. Humidity: While high humidity (greater than 70%) can cause inconveniences, such as sticking keys, it rarely causes true damange. Besides, in this day and age most homes that have […]
Voicing Part One
Voicing is one of the most critical aspects of piano maintenance and repair and perhaps the most mysterious. It’s mysterious because there is so little you can actually specify, unlike the precise measurements of key dip or let off. Voicing is often referred to as “tone regulating” which has a more clear meaning. It is […]