Regulation

The player uses three subsystems to produce and modify sound:

  • The action — the mechanical part of the piano that transfers the motion of the fingers on the keys to the hammers that strike the strings.
  • The trapwork — the assemblage of levers, dowels and springs that connects the pedals to the action, affecting sustain, dynamics and timbre.
  • The damper system — the mechanical part of the piano that stops the vibration of the note’s strings when its key is released, and is controlled by the key and pedal system.

Regulation compensates for the effects of wear, the compacting and settling of cloth, felt and buckskin, as well as dimensional changes in wood and wool parts due to changes in humidity. A well-regulated piano gives the pianist control over the velocity of the hammers through uniformly responsive keys, so that there no shortcomings to workaround or compensate for. The piano ‘disappears’ to the extent that the player can be immersed completely in the music.

Unfortunately, it is rare to come across a well-regulated piano. Few people have played on one or even know about regulation. And having no knowledge, understanding or first hand experience, they have no expectations of their pianos. The instrument’s gradually worsening condition is tolerated until something starts to be obviously wrong, and a piano technician is called in to get it ‘fixed’.

How often is regulation needed?

Pianos that are heavily used should be regulated every two to four years. New pianos should be regulated upon delivery, one year later, and then every few years thereafter. The frequency of regulation is dependent on the intensity and number of hours your instrument is played, and on the micro-climate in the room in which your piano is located. conditions.

The dampers and the back action generally stay in regulation for a long time. However, it is a good idea to lubricate damper wires, bushings, and damper underlever centre pins as part of the regulation.

What are the signs that my piano needs regulating?

If your instrument displays a lack of sensitivity or a decreased dynamic range, it’s a candidate for regulation. If you notice that the keys are not level (some are higher or lower than the rest), the touch is uneven or that the keys are sticking, the need for regulation is indicated. However, a sluggish action or deep grooves in the hammers indicate the need for reconditioning or repair. Ask your technician to show you what needs adjustment on your piano.

No amount of practice can compensate for a poorly maintained action. Poor legato touch, chord playing where all notes of the chord don’t speak clearly, a gradual loss of subtlety in phrasing and an inability to execute quick passages or note repetitions evenly may be the fault of the piano, not the player.

Why is reconditioning or rebuilding of the mechanical systems sometimes necessary prior to regulation?

Prior to regulation, your technician will assess the condition of your instrument. If it has badly worn parts or if there has been corrosion or moth damage, the piano may not be able to be properly regulated without some repair or replacements of parts.

Reconditioning is the process of putting your piano back in good condition by cleaning, repairing, and adjusting your instrument for maximum performance with replacement parts only where specifically indicated. If your piano has deteriorated beyond simple reconditioning, it may need to be rebuilt.

Rebuilding involves complete disassembly, inspection and repair as necessary with replacement of all worn or deteriorated parts. The piano is then reassembled. tested and adjusted to the same or similar tolerance and performance as when it was new.

Your piano is a major investment which deserves to be protected through regular servicing by a qualified technician. Properly maintained, your piano will sound its best and give you and your family a lifetime of enjoyment.

Can you do an inspection of my piano?

Yes of course! An inspection of the action is done to check if the parts are in good enough condition for the regulation to hold. Measurements are done for 18 test notes to find out what improvements a PTD implementation will give, and how much work will be involved. The inspection cost of SGD250 is credited towards the job if the quote is accepted via a 50% prepayment.

The Action Regulation Process

To better understand what action regulation entails, let’s take a look at the typical scope of work for actions that do not require any repair or rebuilding work to be done. The work items have been sectioned into 8 groups for clarity.

  • Section 1 — The action is itself used to accurately sample the string heights and the keybed shape. The action is then transported to the workshop.
  • Section 2 — In the workshop, the string heights and keybed shape are transferred to the regulating station by adjusting the regulating station until the samples are accurately reproduced. The chosen guide notes are test-regulated to find suitable action elevation values. The action is disassembled.
  • Section 3 — The keyboard is serviced.
  • Section 4 — The top stack’s components are serviced.
  • Section 5 — After the action is reassembled, the parts for each note are aligned on a plane perpendicular to the keybed and strings.
  • Section 6 — Core regulation.
  • Section 7 — Touchweight must be rebalanced immediately after the regulation, even if none of the actions parts were replaced. This is necessary because regulation always impacts touchweight. We use the PTD method to rebalance touchweight. It gives high quality touch and tone that traditional methods cannot match. It is the gold standard in piano action optimisation and customisation and is beneficial to all pianos, even new ones.
  • Section 8 — The action is reunited with the rest of the piano.
1 | In Piano
  • Remove action from the action cavity
  • Clean and dry lubricate keybed
  • Bed keyframe (damper pedal at rest for balance rail)
  • Rough regulate notes for sampling string heights
  • Take keybed balance rail samples, keybed front rail sample, string height samples
  • Transport action to workshop
2 | Set-up
  • Install action on regulating station, then replicate string height, string scale, and keybed shape to regulating station
  • Fully regulate the guide notes (A0, C8)
  • Derive suitable and balanced values for key height, blow distance, let-off, drop, dip and aftertouch.
  • Number hammers, wippens and keys as needed
  • Disassemble action
3 | Keyboard Prep
  • Clean keyframe and felts
  • Reinforce screw holes for top stack
  • Rejuvenate, resize & lubricate balance rail key bushings
  • Rejuvenate, resize & lubricate front rail key bushings
  • Rejuvenate key end damper lift felts
  • Polish & lubricate balance rail key pins
  • Polish & lubricate front rail key pins
  • Clean & polish white key tops
4 | Top Stack Prep
  • Clean action frame
  • Clean wippens
  • Inspect, clean & lubricate repetition spring grub
  • Rejuvenate & dry lubricate wippen heel cushions
  • Rejuvenate & dry lubricate hammer knuckles
  • Normalise friction
    • wippen flange centre
    • jack action centre
    • repetition lever action centre
    • hammer flange action centre
5 | Pre-regulation Alignment
  • Reassemble action
  • Travel & square hammers
  • File and shape hammers
  • Align hammers to string scale
  • Travel and align wippens to knuckles
  • Square and align backchecks with hammer tails
6 | Regulation
  • Level, square & space keys (at the key height validated in Set-up)
  • Set initial dip for all keys at 10mm
  • Establish hammer line (at the blow distance validated in Set-up)
  • Check that every note has drop and some spring tension
  • Regulate backchecking height
  • Regulate repetition spring strength
  • Regulate jack-to-knuckle alignment
  • Regulate repetition lever height above jack
  • Touch-up hammer line
  • Regulate let-off
  • Regulate drop
  • Touch-up hammerline
  • Regulate aftertouch
7 | Touchweight Balancing (PTD method)
  • Measure post-regulation touchweight of all notes for input to PTD model
    • DW down weight
    • UW upweight
    • BW balance weight
    • F friction (address anomalies)
  • Detach top stack from keyframe and remove hammers
  • Measure for input to PTD model
    • SW strikeweight of every hammer
    • FW frontweight of every key
    • KR key ratio of sample notes
    • WBW wippen balance weight of sample notes
  • Use PTD model to derive SW and FW specifications that produce the desired BW at
    • the measured strikeweight ratio (SWR), and at
    • the advised SWR
  • If the measured SWR gives unacceptable SW or FW values
    • select method to implement the advised SWR
    • get approval to proceed with implementation (extra charge)
  • Scale strike weights to SW target specifications
  • Scale front weights to FW target specifications
  • Reassemble action
    • Realign hammers with string scale
    • Touchup wippen alignment to knuckle
    • Touchup backcheck alignment to hammer tail
    • Touchup hammerline
  • Measure post-optimisation touchweight of all notes.
8 | In Piano
  • Transport action back to piano
  • Install action
  • Bed keyframe balance rail (damper pedal depressed)
  • Fine-space hammers to strings
  • Mate hammers to strings
  • Tune & voice
  • Check & adjust damper up-stop rail for correct damper travel limit
  • Touchup damper timing as needed