A piano is a wondrous machine that has an astounding number of moving parts. All of these parts must fit and move together just right for the instrument to perform its finest. Unfortunately, like any machine with moving parts, time and wear take their toll.

Modest repairs and adjustments are a regular part of the service when Family Piano Company tunes your piano. Our goal is to ensure that your piano is performing as well as it can both in terms of how it sounds and how it plays. If more substantial adjustments turn out to be required, we will discuss our proposed solutions with you before proceeding.

What's the difference between restoration and rebuilding? Restoration is working with existing piano parts, and rebuilding is replacing piano parts. Let's start with restoration, sometimes called refurbishing.

RESTORATION

TLC When we're asked to appraise pianos for service work beyond piano tuning, the first level is what we call "TLC", or Tender Loving Care. As pianos age, numerous friction points build up causing the piano to not respond to what the pianist wants the piano to do. Notes become sluggish, playing at quiet levels becomes next to impossible and other annoying symptoms crop up like clicky sounds and squeaky pedals just to name a few. You'd be amazed at what just a few hours of TLC can do for your piano. This level of work is very cost effective for spinet and console styles of pianos.

Starting with the keyboard, cleaning the key pins, vacuuming underneath the keys, tightening all the action screws and filing the piano hammers to expose newer felt can make an older piano play and sound much better. Service like this is a part of Family Piano Co. vast repertoire of day to day piano service. By starting with the obvious symptoms and cleaning all of the critical areas of friction build up, we can noticeably improve any piano in a very short period of time.

REGULATION - The next step in restoration is what's called regulation. When a piano is regulated, this means that all of the mechanical adjustments are re-adjusted to the factory specifications. Regulation is especially recommended for pianos that are used for any level of piano student who is playing on an older piano that's had lots of use over the years. Going more into detail, completely regulating a piano will summon all the musical nuances that the piano can create. There are several critical adjustments that change over the years due to the fact the piano is mechanical and is prone to change. The numerous little felt parts compress causing the feel of the piano to get mushy, so we lose power and control. Too, the hammer heads become grooved and flatter causing the delicate tones to diminish. Playing hard and loud is easy, but playing softly and sweetly becomes quite a chore.

The important adjustments include:

• Hammer Filing Removing the grooves from the hammer heads dramatically improves the tone, attack, and soft playing of any piano. This is done by gently using sandpaper to peel of the outer layers of felt to expose the unused felt below. Like an onion, piano hammers are made in layers of felt and removing a few layers won't harm the piano in any way, only improve it. (There can be exceptions however, if the hammers have been filed multiple times already and there isn't enough felt to file, the time has come for hammer replacement. See action rebuilding below.)
• Let-off "Let-off" is the point when the hammer trips away from the string before striking it. The further away from the string let-off occurs, the less power and control of quiet notes the piano is able to produce.
• Lost motion Lost motion happens when felt compression between the key and the lever ( wippen) it's engaging. The removal of lost motion will make a startling change in how the piano feels*.
• Key Level and Key Dip These two adjustments go together. After removing the lost motion from the keyboard, our key level is going to change. We'll see the amount of felt compression with the change of key height. This is normal. By adding as needed small paper punchings under the center rail, we re-adjust the key level to be even once again. Key dip refers to how far the key is depressed. Once the key level is brought back to normal, re-setting the dip will make each note feel identical. Too little key dip causes the piano to be very hard to play, and doesn't allow the action parts to cycle properly. Too much key dip can cause the pianist to work too hard because the keys are being depressed too far.
• Back-Checking This often neglected aspect of piano action mechanics is one of the most important to ensure quick repeating of notes, and on vertical pianos especially helps the piano not to have notes slip or not play during quick repetition. Back-checking is the "brake" for the hammer after it hits the string. The back-check keeps the hammer poised to hit the string again. Correctly adjusted back-checks can help make a piano play like lightning!
• Repetition Spring Tension This adjustment is found exclusively on grand piano actions. On a grand action wippen, there is a piece called the repetition lever whose job is to bring the hammer back up near the string while the note has finished playing, seemingly defying the laws of gravity. This spring must gently yet swiftly bring the hammer up to the string without feeling the motion in the key. Yes, this is a touchy adjustment, but by far one of the most critical adjustments on a grand piano action.
• Pedals and Trap Work For optimum performance, the pedals must work in harmony with the rest of the mechanism.

CABINET RESTORATION We can also improve the cosmetic appearance of your piano without complete re-finishing. This is done on a case by case basis. (Pardon the really bad pun.)

REBUILDING

What piano rebuilding means is replacement of the critical parts inside the piano. This process is generally recommended for higher quality, older grand pianos. The cost involved in such a project can far outweigh the inherent value of a lower quality instrument. However, the complete rebuilding of a high quality piano will add years of life to the instrument, and is less expensive than replacing it with a new model. Rebuilding can save thousands of dollars over the cost of a new high quality piano. There is also an added benefit of preserving the piano for generations to come.

Rebuilding has three components; Structural Rebuilding, action rebuilding and re-finishing. It is generally suggested that all three components are completed, although this is not always needed. Certain situations can omit the total re-finishing of the piano for example. We do not suggest a piano only be re-finished without doing the other two components. Most pianos have one chance to be rebuilt properly, so doing it right the first time will save thousands of dollars in the long run. On occasion the action parts may not need replacing, but this is rarely the case.

Structural Rebuilding The first step in structural rebuilding (after ascertaining it is a viable candidate), is stripping the piano of all the strings and taking copious measurements of the existing dimensions. Once the strings and cast iron plate are removed, the instrument is ready for soundboard drying. In order to repair soundboard cracks correctly, the soundboard must be dried. After this process is completed, the old lacquer or varnish is removed and the cracks are repaired using similarly dried spruce shims. Next is the replacement of the pin block. Many so called rebuilt pianos have the original pin block still in them. While having new strings will improve any old piano neglecting to replace this very important piece is not high quality work. When a new pin block is installed, you can guarantee years of hassle free tuning and excellent tuning stability. (The pin block is the piece of machined maple hardwood that holds all the tuning pins.) Other parts of structural rebuilding are making sure the soundboard is firmly attached to the piano's rim, and that the supporting ribs underneath the soundboard are also firmly attached.

Action Rebuilding Moving onto the keyboard... the grand piano action slides out of the case with ease and we see all the old parts that will be replaced. As in the paragraphs above concerning regulation, replacing all the action parts will give the new rebuilt piano all the power and control of a new piano, because inside it is new. Modern piano parts manufacturers have made incredible strides in duplicating older part geometries and improving upon them. An action rebuilt by Family Piano Co. will dazzle you with smoothness and dynamic control. Although there are many piano part companies to choose from, Family Piano Co. uses German parts exclusively in our action rebuilding jobs. They aren't the most inexpensive, but in our experience they are the best value for your dollar. The parts replaced are the hammers, shanks, flanges and wippens. Also included are action key-frame felt and damper system felts.

Re-Finishing The last component is complete re-finishing of the case. While we usually suggest that the piano be re-finished in it's original color, this isn't a hard fast rule. Any piano can be re-finished in satin ebony for example, but we can't take a satin ebony piano and make it mahogany. A good rule of thumb is to maintain the look of the original piano. Completely removing the old finish, repairing the dents and scratches then sanding the case and case parts to raw wood is the first step. Next is filling the grain of the wood if the new finish is a natural wood tone, sanding sealer is then applied, then the final coats of lacquer are applied. Granted, this is a simplified explanation of this enormously labor intensive process loaded with volatile chemicals, but you get the idea. Oh, and we can't forget that the cast iron plate is also re-finished and lettered.

Things to Consider It's true that any piano can be rebuilt but Family Piano Co. will only recommend this service for pianos that fit the above criteria. Sentimental value can often blind a piano owner into thinking Grandma's piano is a one of a kind heirloom. Most often this isn't the case. Grandma's legacy is the love of music, not the worship of this old piano. Clients with a lower tiered piano are better served using their piano for a trade-in towards a new or newer piano, or just simply going the TLC route. No matter how good we are at rebuilding, this is going to be a second generation piano and won't have all the sparkle of a new one without replacing the soundboard. Once into the land of soundboard replacement, the costs soar. So, we'll inspect your rebuilding candidate with a fine tooth comb, and suggest this for the right reasons, not to just make a buck.

(Writers Note: Experienced piano re-builders who may read this web-page will undoubtedly say... " Well, what about so and so???" This is a brief description of piano rebuilding for regular people who aren't in the industry. In my rebuilding experience, a complete rebuilding job may take months to complete. There are literally hundreds of steps. I can't include everything. You'd get bored and surf YouTube instead. - Mark MacLeod, co-owner of Family Piano Co.)

Mark and Alice are always eager to answer any questions you may have about piano service. Please contact us no matter how silly you may think your question is. Our combined experience allow us to answer virtually anything, and if we don't know the answer right away we'll find out.