When piano tuning isn’t enough
Pianos are so well designed that repairs are not often needed – provided, of course, that the piano hasn’t been abused or placed into an unsuitable environment. Indeed, many minor issues can be dealt with during the course of a regular tuning. In other cases, special adjustments or parts replacement may be required. Here are some of the most common things that can go wrong:
- Broken strings – Older pianos (more than 50 years old) and those that haven’t been regularly serviced stand a greater chance of string breakage during tuning.
- Sticky keys – There are many reasons why keys stick – everything from coins falling between keys to binding action parts, to rodents’ nests!
- Non-working keys – Missing or broken hammers, broken key sticks or action parts, missing or broken strings are among the major reasons why keys refuse to work.
- Non-working pedals – Although often caused by missing or binding linkages, pedals are subject to heavy wear and tear – sometimes needing disassembly and parts replacement.
- Non-working string dampers – If a damper lifter wire loosens or binds, the repair is minor. In cases where the damper felt hardens or fails due to moth damage, replacement may be needed.
- Hardening of the hammers – If your piano begins to sound like a marimba, it’s time to address the health of the piano’s hammers. Over the course of years of playing, the hammers develop grooves due to string contact. Providing adequate felt remains, filing and re-voicing the hammers may do the trick. For hammers that are too far gone, replacement is the better option. The improvement in tone is always dramatic!
What will it cost?
Estimates are always provided prior to beginning any repair work, and costs vary with the price of parts and the time needed for installation.
With older pianos, the costs aren’t always easy to pin down. Due to the limited availability of used piano parts and the rather delicate condition of the pianos themselves, please expect the unexpected!