service Archives - South Jersey Piano

Ben Patterson, RPT

November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Service Comment Closed

I'm happy to announce that I am now a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) with the Piano Technicians Guild! It has been my pleasure to professionally service pianos for the last eight years. This year, I chose to join the Piano Technicians Guild and complete their certification process. The PTG is the foremost organization in the USA for piano technician certification, networking, and professional development, and I am happy to now be a professional part of it. For more information about the PTG, check out their website! www.ptg.org In the meantime, I'll be continuing to expand South Jersey Piano Service. I'll also try to get back to regular social media updates! ...

Voicing piano hammers – an incredible difference in sound

September 17, 2016November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Service Comment Closed

Did you know there are actually three categories of maintenance that pianos need? Tuning is the first that most people think of. But regulation and voicing are two other maintenence items that make an enormous difference in the feel and sound of a piano - sometimes more so than tuning. I've discussed regulation before, but voicing is the third element of piano maintenance and refers exclusively to the manipulation of the hammer felt. Over time, piano hammers get deep grooves, as well as the natural hardening and compressing of the felt with age and use. Voicing involves several different techniques to harden, soften, reshape, and re-texturize the hammer felt. It's called "voicing" because every change made to the hammer felt makes a significant difference in the tone quality of the piano. What may be perceived as a "sour" or "out-of-tune" note is sometimes a voicing issue. Lastly, it's worth pointing out that new pianos need this too! Technicians spend many hours voicing quality new...

Regulation – more important than you realize

August 20, 2016November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Service Comment Closed

For every single key in a piano, there are dozens of parts working behind the scenes to produce the sound. Translate that to several thousand parts in a piano action, and you have a good reminder that tuning is not the only maintenance pianos need! The adjustment of the mechanical workings of the action is referred to as regulation. Regulation, not tuning, is what determines the "feel" of the piano - heavy, light, bouncy, stiff, fast, slow, etc. Often, your piano playing experience may be improved dramatically by some quality action regulation. If there are a number of issues, this can be a more involved job and may be scheduled as a separate appointment from your tuning. However, good piano technicians often will perform some limited regulation as part of a regular tuning appointment, if time allows, or may recommend some additional work that can be performed on the spot. This is particularly the case when you maintain regular tuning intervals without...