Have you played some pianos that were easy to play that your fingers seemed to be just floating - and others that felt like you were trudging through three feet of thick mud? Your piano is probably somewhere in between. A good “regulation” can greatly improve the feel of your piano and make it far more easy to play. Of course, an upright will never feel and play the same as a nice grand because the mechanics of the actions are too different. But a well regulated upright can still be real pleasure to play.
Proper piano maintenance requires more that regular tunings. It is a complicated mechanical instrument of over 5,000 parts. There are no less than 6 adjustments that can be made (to every note) in addition to tuning it. These adjustments are known as “Regulation”. Adding to the complexity, each adjustment pretty much affects all of the others. Yamaha teaches a 37-step regulation procedure. In this article I will break down the basic needs of a typical upright piano and how they affect the enjoyment of playing your instrument. Before regulating, it is important to remove the action and tighten all of the action screws. These screws work themselves loose over the years, making the parts unstable resulting in making any adjustments only temporary. (This takes about 1 hour). 1. Hammer Blow Distance. This is the distance between that hammer at rest and the strings. This is the starting point and sets the requirement for many of the other adjustments and is usually worked on first. It can usually be adjusted in less than 30 minutes. 2. Key Height. This is probably one of the most noticeable regulation needs. It is relatively easy to tell if the keys are pretty much level and even or if some sit lower or higher than others. Not only is this starting point of the key stroke important, the unevenness can be noticeable to the touch and make the piano unpleasant to play. It takes approximately 2 hours to set and level the keys. 3. Key Dip. This is how far you can press the key down. This should be the same for all of the keys and can become uneven just like the key height. Poor key dip can make it feel like the keys are hard to press down, like the piano is fighting against you, making the instrument tiring to play. It also affects how the hammer moves toward the string. Poor key dip could cause “bobbling hammers”, hammers that stutter and repeat the note. It takes approximately 2 hours to set and level the key dip. 4. Lost Motion The keys are not directly connected to the action. Capstans push on wippens. Sometimes there is an excessive gap between the capstan and the wippen. One can press the key quite a distance before they make contact and the action is engaged. If this gap is excessive, you can oress the key slowly and you can feel the key engage the action part way through the key stroke. It takes approximately 1 hour to adjust all of the capstans. 5. Let Off In a piano, the action disengages from the hammer and “throws” the hammer at the sting for the last 1/16th of an inch. Poor let off can mute the note by pressing the hammer against the string and can drastically change the feel of the piano. Press the key slowly. You can feel the “jack” releasing and can see the hammer fall backward. It usually takes between an hour and 90 minutes to adjust all of the let off screws. 6. Back Checks Besides the hammers, the second most obvious part someone looks at the piano action. The back checks catch the hammers after they strike the string, preparing the note to be repeated. Poor back check alignment can affect the playing to repeated notes or could even mute notes by pressing the hammer against the strings. It usually takes about an hour to adjust all of the back checks and bridal straps. Beyond these Basic 6: The hammers must be aligned to hit all of the strings, as do the dampers, which mute the strings when you lift the key. The dampers should be regulated so that they all lift about half way through the key strong, and so they all lift at the same time when you press on the damper pedal. Dampers are hard to access and take a bit more time to work on. (Approximately 3 hours.) Keys that wobble a lot, either side to side or front to back on their pins, need to have their mortices re-bushed with new felt. (Approximately 6 hours.) Experience has shown us that the easier an instrument is to play, the more pleasure people derive from playing it, and vice versa. At David’s Fine Tuning, we don’t just want to tune your piano. We want you to be able to get the most enjoyment you can out of it. Please contact us and ask us about the benefits of a well regulated piano. By taking advantage of our Full Service appointments, regular minor adjustments become “preventative maintenance”, reducing the need for a complete regulation.
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David Spondike, Ph.D.Piano Technician, Theorist, Composer, Bassist Archives
September 2021
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