Vertical Piano Regulation Procedure - Piano Tuning & Repair I HOWARD PIANO INDUSTRIES

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Vertical Piano Regulation Procedure - Piano Tuning & Repair I HOWARD PIANO INDUSTRIES
This instructional video goes through the different steps in order for how to regulate a vertical piano. This process works for console pianos, spinet pianos, studio pianos, and full-size upright pianos.
Here is a link to the page on our website where you can find more videos that go into the details of how to make these adjustments on your piano: www.howardpianoindustries.com...
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🎥 Video Chapters
-----------------------------------
00:00 - Intro
02:13 - Piano Action Handbook
04:19 - Regulating Procedure
07:23 - Setting White Key Height
08:51 - Setting Sharp Key Height
09:59 - Regulating Let-Off
11:28 - Setting White Key Dip
13:36 - Setting Sharp Key Dip
14:28 - Adjusting/Aligning The Backchecks
15:48 - Adjusting The Aftertouch
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✔️ Piano Action Handbook
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✔️ Stainless Steel Rule
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👉 Disclaimer (this video is only for entertainment purposes comment)
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[@Goodi8]

Had someone come and tune and regulate my piano and now it sounds worse than ever so I figure it's time I fix what he did. He was here twice by the way and I paid him a whole lot of money. The tuning was the easy part for him....but then he said he wanted to regulate it and...took each key out and turned a screw at the end of it and re-intalled the key ......that is all he did. Now the key action is pretty bad sometimes won't even sound. etc etc help !

[@howardpianoind]

It could be he regulated the lost motion to be too close and then maybe there was a weather changed that caused what is called negative lost motion which can make it so the jacks don't reset properly. Or the problems you're having with the piano could be unrelated to what the technician did, it could be different issue such as tight jack flanges. It's difficult to tell without seeing the piano.

[@Goodi8]

Yes I think he regulated the lost motion too close.....but going to fix it !

[@timelwell7002]

It could be that there is either too much key-dip or too little. When I regulate for key-dip, I firstly make sure that the back-check and set-off regulation are OK so as not to inhibit the full movement of each key. I often regulate to 11 mm rather than 10 mm key-dip - slighty more than the key-dip block - depending upon what feels correct to me as a pianist (as well as a tuner/technician). When regulating the #s, I often increase the key-dip on the balance rail a little, but ensuring that when depressed, the sharp is 2 mm above the level of the naturals (which are NOT depressed, of course). If the sharp comes down to be flush with the naturals, then it needs building up on the front rail with the various thicknesses of card washers. If there is insufficient key-dip, hammers will tend to bounce against the strings, and the piano will feel stodgy to play. If there is too much key-dip, then the piano touch will also feel wrong. If you employ another tuner/technician, maybe find one who is also a pianist, and who knows how a piano should feel and sound, and who knows how to achieve the optimum results for any given instrument.

[@christianwouters6764]

@@howardpianoind sometimes getting rid of the lost motion at the capstans makes the dampers action to soon. In that case the piano Will indeed sound horrible.

[@polarpalmwv4427]

Once again your videos save the day! As someone learning piano technology and still early on in his studies, lack of clarity from "how to" resources are the biggest impediment to my learning. These videos demystify all of it!

[@gegervary]

4:19 - That's when the explanation starts.

[@RAkers-tu1ey]

This is amazing... really great stuff. Not a musician, but a good technician... not on pianos, but acoustic guitars. This is great.

[@airnsmke]

You are great, very thankful for your videos

[@boldcautionproductions9203]

Great share - I am binge watching your vids. I think it is great you help build confidence that someone that is at all handy can make these adjustments. I will video-document my upcoming refurb.

[@rezamovie]

Loved it.

[@KalpaHettiarachchi]

Great, thx

[@fontaine05]

wow thanks a lot!!!!

[@RedHareBKK]

Very generous sharing of useful information. Thanks. Does the book you show have info about Kawai KU-80? It seems to be rather rare so not much info available on it.

[@howardpianoind]

The Action Handbook doesn't have specs for specific models of pianos except they show specs for sizes of pianos such as all of the Kawai console pianos will be grouped together and all of the Steinway grands of certain sizes will be grouped together if they have the same specs.

[@rodrigocamargo8400]

Hello Howard. I bought the Mario Igrec book and the regulation and tuning tools sets from you. I am watching several of your videos but now I am not sure where to begin regarding regulations. My piano has heavily worn hammers so I guess I should begin re-forming them before regulating? Should I start regulating the keys or the capstans? After the capstans then the let off? Or should I just follow the sequence in this video? Thank you.

[@Satchmoeddie]

I am starting on a friend's old Chickering. Wow, is it neglected! I wish I knew where my aunt's Model M went. She gave it away, and the recipient of the gift died in an unfortunate accident working in a basement with a gas generator. The Steinway was completely redone. She also gave away a Hammond B3. Those are right up my alley! Love these videos! You are more knowledge than talk, so I get more from these videos in less time than others. Some more video closeups of the action would be great, but I have tried to make DIY videos by myself and it is much harder than it looks. I have even bought editing software, but then I am taking more time editing than i did making the raw video. LOL

[@howardpianoind]

Thanks for watching Seth and also thank you for sharing your comments. Yes, there are a lot of neglected pianos out there. Time has a way of deteriorating pianos if they are not cared for. I'm so glad to hear that you've found the videos to be helpful.

[@ronald3921]

Probably not a good idea to learn on a piano that is too far gone

[@TimTamsLOL]

Really handy video, cheers. Could do with a bit of script to help you eliminate those 'umms'!

[@mickandrews9458]

Thanks for another very informative video. After how many hours of playing would you recommend a tall (132cm) upright piano is regulated per your video? Would lubrication be required to be undertaken more often than regulation (as per your video), if so, about how many hours of play? Many thanks.

[@katiegrundle9900]

my piano action is really heavy. what would be the main cause of that. there seems to be no friction of the keys when the action is removed. but the dampers open as soon as the key is pressed. will adjusting the spoons make a huge improvment

[@sikulomusic4422]

hello Howard I am currently working on a mini upright schoenberg piano by trebel. the action seems simpler but is definitely bobbling a lot. there's also a problem with the mute when you press the key sometimes it doesn't lift off enough the strings making it sound a bit muted with quick notes

[@howardpianoind]

It could be that the damper spoons need to be adjusted.

[@MixedMuscleArts]

Hello, do you sell a complete tool kit to do all of the regulation steps? I recently bought your tuning hammer kit due to the free time (quarantine) but I decided to go down the rabbit hole of a semi reconditioning of the entire piano (thanks to your videos!!). If I can get away with standard household tools for some tasks that would be great. I'll definitely be needing some spinet lifter grommets which I see you also sell.

[@howardpianoind]

We do sell a regulating toolkit which includes the most commonly used regulating tools: www.howardpianoindustries.com/piano-regulating-tool-kit/. This doesn't include all of the tools used in the all of the steps, but it does include the tools that I use most often in doing regulating work in the field.

[@nicholasscoville839]

Thanks for this! Perhaps I missed it, but when in the process would you recommend squaring and spacing the keys?

[@howardpianoind]

That step would typically be done before these other steps.

[@galinashapiro665]

If it's a spinet or console piano, should I climb up and down to regulate the action or there is a shortcut I can do much easier? Thank you

[@howardpianoind]

Regulating spinet pianos is a pain because of the action being so far down into the piano, but unfortunately I don't know of any shortcuts. There shouldn't be too much that has to be done from below the keyboard. Mostly just adjusting the spoons which can be done with the action out of the piano if you get it set up right.

[@thomaslau9631]

How to readjust the keyboard actions to a lighter standard action to 50g? Seems like my piano actions is up to 60g at C1 & 55g at C8 when it came out from the factory. Can I add some weight e.g. 8 to 9g at the tips of the keys?

[@howardpianoind]

Hi Thomas, You'll first want to make sure there is the proper amount of friction in the keys and the action. Once you've done this, then you can make some modifications such as weighting the keys with weights that are put into the keys themselves. You have to drill holes in the sides of the keys to put the weights in. This is a fairly detailed process that we may offer a video on in the future.

[@thomaslau9631]

Dear sir, Thank you very much for your advice. I shall watch the keys more carefully before I do something to lower the actions. Many thanks.

[@stebo4624]

Howard, I have a Baldwin upright and am having a problem with the hammers intermittently not returning to their correct position to strike the strings? I know it needs some kind of regulating but where do I start? I made a short video showing the problem. How can I get it to you for review?

[@howardpianoind]

It sounds like it's possible that the jack pinning is too tight on some of your jacks. You can email a video to: [e-mail]

[@DBenfordMusic]

Is it a balancing issue? I'm having the same problem.. It's like there's not enough weight at the back of the key to return the jack in the right striking position.

[@richardhannemann4594]

Start to finsh -- appx how long does it take to do the regulation process described ?

[@howardpianoind]

It does depend some on how much adjustment is needed, but usually about a half day will do a fairly extensive regulation on a vertical piano.

[@richardhannemann4594]

Thanks Howard -- I'm planning to charge a flat-rate and am trying to figure out a reasonable mid-way balance. I recently did a key leveling that took about 2 hours -- every single key needed it. And I get a lot of pianos here that haven't had anything done (including tuning) in years -- sometimes decades. Based on that I was figuring I should block off at least 4 hours. And thanks for all the really informative videos :)

[@anahuic]

Hello Howard. please tell me exactly what makes a key return to the up position?

[@howardpianoind]

The thing that makes the front of the key return to the up position is the fact that the weight of the action on the back of the key is heavier than the front of the key so it pushes the back of the key down which causes the front of the key to go back up since the middle of the key is on a balance rail, so the front and back of the key work somewhat like a see saw.

[@anahuic]

Well when I use the soft pedal sometimes a key doesn't come all the way up. it does when I release the soft pedal. Is there any harm in adding a small lead weight to the back of the key to help it come up?

[@howardpianoind]

There is another reason that the key isn't coming all the way back up. It could be that the key bushings are too tight, or it could be that there is something too tight in the action such as the hammer flange or the jack flange. Adding weight to the key wouldn't really be fixing the problem. It would be better to diagnose where the issue is.

[@susannaswantek5254]

Hi, I have Yamaha p22. After playing any key it still keep sounding like echo, what do you think is the problem

[@howardpianoind]

It sounds like the damper pedal needs an adjustment: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKjUoHuEncyViZo&pp=ygUkaG93YXJkIHBpYW5vIGluZHVzdHJpZXMgZGFtcGVyIHBlZGFs

[@TheLoveCats75]

Do you have any advice on how to adjust the letoff of a Spinet Piano while the action is still inside and after the keys have been leveled?

[@howardpianoind]

Adjusting let off on a spinet piano can be done with the action in the piano. It is a little more difficult because you have to reach down to access the regulating screws. But using the normal regulating tool you should be able to reach the screw.

[@TheLoveCats75]

@@howardpianoind Thanks, I'm trying to regulate my 1960 Wurlitzer Spinet but trying to turn the regulating screws is super-tough as you need to turn them at an angle due to all the parts of the Action in the way. Are there any regulating screw tools out there that account for the angle in which you have to turn those screws so you don't break off the heads?

[@howardpianoind]

Not that I’m aware of. You’ll just want to do it carefully and you may not be able to put the tool all the way down over the head of the screw but just work at it from the top part of the screw head.

[@susannaswantek5254]

Hi, I have Yamaha p22. After playing any key it still sounds like echo, how can I fix it

[@howardpianoind]

I am guessing your sustain pedal needs to be adjusted. See our video entitled " Damper Lever Lift Adjustment" in our education videos under the Piano Regulation Videos for Vertical pianos.

[@DivineSource444]

When you buy a brand new piano straight from the dealer (Kawai), is it already regulated or is that something one has to do when you first get a brand new piano?

[@howardpianoind]

They typically do some regulation on a new piano, but once the piano starts getting some use and the new parts start to get broken in it will need some regulation done. Typically you figure to have this checked after having the piano about a year.

[@richardgolonka7585]

You said 1/8th inch in bass and 1/16in in the trebel...maybe as long as the hammers function correclty. So, where would the transition be? Or would you change it gradually from bottom to top

[@howardpianoind]

The change will be where the bass section ends and the treble section begins. You can tell the bass strings by the fact that they cross over the treble strings.

[@richardgolonka7585]

@@howardpianoind Ah ok, that is what I though. Wasn't sure if you were taking about actual strings or subjective sound of the notes. Thanks for the reply. Cheers.

[@finecrux3086]

If adjusting the key height n depth affects the lost/over motion of the capstains then why not save it for last?

[@finecrux3086]

Also key depth and "hammer stop" adjustments are so inconsistent as its highly relied on the amount of depressed pressure u exert, who can do that consistently for 88 keys??

[@howardpianoind]

Yes, it is dependent on these factors, but you have to adjust it with a medium strength blow and do it consistently from one key to the next.

[@ChrisPadillaAZ]

Steve on that piano, are some things not in regulation? Because I see some keys and hammers not at the same level???

[@howardpianoind]

It very well could be. This isn't a piano that I actually play, but it is just in my shop primarily to make videos.

[@ChrisPadillaAZ]

Maybe you could make a video of you fixing a couple of those. It would be awesome.... Thanks.

[@ChrisPadillaAZ]

And I know there are lots of videos with individual steps, I mean showing all the steps together to fix the regulation points for one key from top to bottom to see how much time it would take for fixing one issue from beginning to end. Thanks for your consideration.

[@glenngillespie8660]

Time to go metric… 1-5 ratio … if your key dip is 10 mm- your blow distance should be 50mm.. If you’re just roughing stuff in… it’s a good place to start……

[@WalterJarrod]

Hard to listen to some one always sucking in their speech.

[@robertdemaio6483]

Just all bull shit no adjusting