plastic Archives - South Jersey Piano

To replace the old, yellowed, and chipped ivory keytops on this keyboard, the customer choose Tharan. Tharan is a relatively new substance developed by Kluge in Germany, with the goal of imitating the feel of ivory as closely as possible. It also looks beautiful, with a slight sheen that sets it apart from the standard plastic keytops used on most pianos. Furthermore, for pianists that are accustomed to the slightly better "grip" of ivory keytops, Tharan is an excellent choice due to its high mineral content and matte texture. The ivory trade, of course, has been very restricted throughout the world and replacing ivory keytops with new ivory is no longer an option. However, several options exist which very closely mimic ivory, and in many ways are superior. ...

If you tell people their piano has plastic parts, most don't think of that as a good thing. When plastics first became mainstream in manufacturing in the 20th century, they were used in all kinds of ways they should not have been and have a bad track record for durability. Early plastics became brittle very quickly and had poor shelf life. However, in recent years a number of piano manufacturers have developed advanced polymers that are used for specific action components and are actually more durable than wood. They are also far less susceptible to seasonal temperature and humidity swings, helping the piano's regulation remain stable longer. This picture is of a "plastic" repetition jack in a Yamaha upright that's just a couple years old. For decades this part would have been made out of wood. It is a quality part though and no cause for concern! You'll notice other parts are still made of wood and metal; it all depends on...

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Tharan keytops

Plastic parts – not as bad as you might think