MAINTAIN
Quality & Longevity

Repairs are part of any piano’s life. Skilled repairs ensure its quality and longevity. Repairs range from fixing broken parts,  eliminating sticking keys, hunting down zings, clicks, or buzzes, and making certain everything is running smoothly;  nothing rubbing, slipping, or missing.

A common repair is sticking keys. One colleague, a founder of the Piano Technicians Guild, created a list of fifty reasons for  a key to stick! Generally, something rubbing, or needing appropriate lubrication, or freed up in some manner will solve the issue, although there exist more advanced skills needed to discover and eliminate these issues.

Hammers rubbing against each other will need to be spaced properly. Center pins of the moving parts may wander out  of their flanges, and need to be re-pinned. Strings may be broken, either during the tuning or by the customer, and  unbelievably, sometimes they break overnight, of their own accord, while customers are sleeping!

Pedal issues are common. Mostly, it is an adjustment issue, but the mechanics can break. Broken casters, fallboards,  keytops and hammer shanks are repairs in which a technician needs to be proficient. While customers are troubled when contacting the technician concerning an issue from which the piano may be suffering, it is often difficult, or impossible to diagnose the problem over the phone. Hopefully, it’s not an urgent concern for the client, and the technician can find a space in his otherwise busy schedule to repair the piano; and a skilled technician will be busy.

To curtail repairs due to normal wear and tear, it’s advisable to regularly maintain a piano before they become necessary.

Below are some of the common repairs done by the The Avid Piano Tech.