Action Regulation
Action Regulation involves the adjustment of some 9000+ working parts in a piano action. Keeping these parts adjusted and in good working order is Essential to giving you maximum control over the tone and volume of sound produced. It will also save you quite a bit of money in the short term and garner more money when/if you need to sell it. A well-maintained piano is easy to spot and seems to garner higher prices in the open market.
As time passes the felts, cloth, and leathers settle, wear, and will deteriorate. Wood and wool parts change in both size and shape. Metal parts become worn, misaligned, or break. These and a host of other forces conspire to degrade the performance of your piano aa well as the sound and can cause more serious problems. For some, a new piano will need the regulation refined for a higher level of service. For others, a consistent maintenance plan will keep your piano playing and sounding its best. Schedule your regulation and begin to love the way your piano plays again.
FAQs Regarding Action Regulation.
1. Facing Adversity.
There are times when the best choice is to update the parts and/or design of the action. We go through each section of the action, document its parts and relationships, and, if necessary, design an action that will bring you the enjoyment of playing a grand piano.
As to facing adversity. a number of years ago I was tuning our home piano as a warm-up exercise when a string broke. Twang, and I immediately had two strings instead of the usual three. It also impacted the note beside it. I was stuck. As and exercise, the real-world experience was great. But it did not help when time was running out. I made a quick decision to come back to it later and fix the broken string. As per my usual lazy self, I kept putting off the day of reckoning.
I felt so silly about my tardiness I decided I should take a look and see what was being impacted by my “wonderous” decision. The offending key that broke the string was “severely’ cut on the inside edge. The open string had cut through the felt. Not only the offensive key, but the key next to it was ‘shaved’ as well.
As it happened, Heavenly Father was watching this scenario unfold and He had previously provided and exact duplicate of the same sized hammers some 10 years earlier (As an aside, I currently have at least to business policies based on this saga.) The hammers were replaced with ones from the kit and regulated to match the rest of the section. At $3oo. the time it would have taken to fix the string initially would have paid for itself multiple times over.
2. My technician is telling me my action needs to be rebuilt. Can't we just clean it and regulate the action?
As important as the action regulation is, it is only one part of a comprehensive maintenance plan and not the last resort as so many expect. If a good technician has observed your action and is suggesting it be rebuilt, it is likely that they have found parts that are worn, misshapen or out of alignment, and need replacing. At some point it makes more sense to rebuild your action than to just fix the offending pieces.
The weights and balances within the dynamics of moving action parts are closely related to its design. This is a fancy way of saying, if the parts are worn, the piano will be harder to play and control. No amount of adjusting will compensate for parts that are no longer capable of being in the right place, at he right time, with the proper leverage. In some cases, the original design may need to be changed to fcombat issues that are causing problems.
3. What are the signs a piano needs regulation?
Many parts of a piano are made to wear out. It keeps the engine running smoothly to do so. (See question 2 and its answer.) Other parts twist, bend and wear due to materials.
- Number of hours/intensity used to play your piano.
- Quality of the build. (The answer to this question is why Campbell Piano Shop uses nothing but high-quality parts. Even the best parts in the work cannot make up for inferior design. (There are a number of pianos from all kinds of classes that fall short in their design. Check with your technician before deciding on an action.
- Urben touch
- Delayed response
- Inconsistent Volumes over the keyboard.
New instruments use much better materials, but not all materials are created equal. This list should help you start evaluating your piano for action regulation issues. As such it is not comprehensive in scope. Call your technician and get a process started. If you do not have a technician, then call Campbell Piano Shop and schedule an action evaluation visit.