Piano Tuning Specialists
The strings are under considerable tension and over time this tension will stretch them, lowering the pitch resulting in the piano sounding out of tune. Unfortunately, no matter how expertly a piano is tuned, atmospheric variations, particularly humidity and the nature of the piano’s construction constantly conspire to bring it off-pitch.
Our piano tuner will restore the pitch providing the piano is structurally sound and the strings are in good condition. For example, a Steinway piano is tuned many times before it leaves the factory. It is tuned to and should be maintained at a 440 pitch for New York models or 443 pitch for Hamburg models. These are the internationally accepted standards and the standards for which all Steinway pianos are engineered.
Years of Experience
Most pianos have been designed and built so that in normal use and under normal conditions it should need only periodic tuning. We recommend that your tuner should be called at least 3 or 4 times a year. You, however, are the final judge and should have the piano tuned as often as you think necessary.
To put the matter of tuning into perspective, remember that a concert piano is tuned before every performance and a piano in a professional recording studio, where it is in constant use, is tuned 3 or 4 times each week as a matter of course. Tuning is an art practiced by skilled professionals and under no circumstances should anyone other than a professional be allowed to try to tune your piano.
Piano Voicing Specialists
The effects of playing (causing felted hammerheads to strike to strings) and the environment (humidity), will change the character of the hammer felt effecting its optimum singing capability. This can result in the piano producing an uneven and dull sound. To counteract this problem, the piano should be regularly voiced/toned using a combination of special toning needles and shaping and a great deal of skill. In the voicing process, the resiliency of tile hammer felts is adjusted with special tools and then all notes are balanced so that the tone is uniform throughout the keyboard.
This is obviously a job which demands special skills and should be attempted only by a professional piano technician. We recommend that you contact one of our team for advice when voicing is required.
Years of Experience
Voicing is to some extent a matter of preference. Some pianists prefer “bright” voicing while others prefer a mellower sound. Regardless of its original voicing, every piano will acquire a somewhat brighter tone with time, because the hammer felts will be compacted as they are thrown repeatedly against the strings. Therefore, depending on your taste and the amount of use your piano gets, it ought to be voiced when your ear tells you the time has come.
Experience has taught us that a piano which receives normal use in the home will need to be voiced every 2 or 3 years. Warning – only a piano technician with specific training in voicing should carry out this service.
