What is a piano’s action? It is a complex mechanical system that translates the depression of a key into a hammer strike on the strings.

When a technician regulates a piano, they have to adjust up to 20 moving parts per key! It is a tedious task that includes adjusting:

    •    key leveling

    •    hammer letoff

    •    hammer drop

    •    key heights

    •    key dip

    •    checking

    •    aftertouch

    •    key alignment

    •    knuckle alignment

    •     88 times (for each key)

This means that it can take several hours to regulate a  piano.

The Cost factors include:

    •    Piano’s condition. If the piano hasn’t been regulated in years, it will take longer to make the necessary adjustments.

    •    Desired level of service. Servicing a standard upright piano that only sees average usage will cost less than an expensive concert piano which needs high level of accuracy.

     Ask for an estimate.

Why Should I Regulate My Piano?

There are several reasons why you would want to regulate your piano:

    •    You sense unevenness in touch from key to key

    •    There are hammers bobbing against the strings while playing notes.

    •    You can’t rapidly play a single note.

    •    Keys feel heavy to the touch

    •    Keys feel wobbly when playing

    •    Keys are uneven with each other

A piano should be regulated about every 10 years to prevent it from aging early.

Piano Maintenance

Once or twice a year you should also tune your piano. You can tell a piano is out of tune if it starts to “sound bad” by Playing Octaves you can easily tell if its off. A piano will go out of tune even if it’s not played. The seasonal changes of temperature and humidity will make a piano go out of tune.

Occasionally you should also voice your piano. In this process a technician will soften the hammer felt by a sa

nding and needling the felts. If some notes on your piano creates a harsh, metallic sound and the hammers have grooves in them, it is time to have your piano voiced.