For today’s post, I interviewed my piano technician, Cory Jacobson of Cory Jacobson Piano Tuning and Service. He has been tuning my piano for many years and has taken excellent care of my piano.
Me: First off, before even purchasing a piano, what should I look for when buying a piano? What are some things I should steer clear of?
Cory: There are many things to consider before making a piano purchase (or accepting a “free” piano). With some research and consideration one can be confident in their decision. The type of piano (upright or grand), cabinet style and finish, the sound quality and “touch” or feel of the action are all important considerations.
I suggest beginning with assessing your needs, expectations, and a reasonable budget for the “investment”. Even a “free” piano is an investment as any instrument will need maintenance (regular tuning). Before committing to purchasing a piano, I believe auditioning several instruments gives people an opportunity to learn about what is available and the features different instruments have.
I recommend visiting a piano dealer to conduct this research and get more familiar with what is available. Some dealers have some very appealing options for financing, warranties, service plans, as well as trade-up value.
https://www.hartlandpiano.com/
Even if a person decides to go for a piano offered in their neighborhood or through an online offering, auditioning “new” or “reconditioned” pianos in a dealer showroom will provide some background for comparison which I feel is valuable to have realistic expectations about other “used” pianos.
The biggest difference may be in the wear of the internal components. The hammers, dampers, action felts and leathers will become more worn with time and usage. This greatly affects the sound quality and “touch” or action of the piano. Obviously if some of the keys or pedals aren’t functioning that would be a sign that the instrument could use some work $$.
Humidity in the Midwest varies so much through the year. The environment a piano is kept in will greatly affect its “stability” or reliability which is absolutely an important consideration. Pianos that have been through “extremes” in their environments (high and low humidity ranges) may have a compromised structure, compromised tuning pin block, rusty strings, obviously un-level keys, loose bridges and bridge pins, ect.
Hiring a piano technician to evaluate a potential instrument can provide valuable insight before making a commitment. I find that a tuning appointment gives just about the best opportunity to really observe every note and its tuning pins for the most thorough evaluation.
*Pianos are considerable work to move also and I have to recommend hiring professional movers for the task. There is risk of damage, injury, or even worse, so hiring a mover is highly recommended. The Piano Technicians Guild also has some great resources available about these things that are worth checking out:
https://www.ptg.org/piano/buying
Me: Once we make that purchase, how do we take care of our investment? One of the first questions asked is: How often should I get my piano tuned? How do you answer this question?
Cory: The “How often” answer for piano tuning can depend on the circumstances. For most in-home pianos, once a year tuning is typical and provides reasonable performance in most situations. Some clients like to go with 2x per year. Performance pianos may be “tuned” or serviced for every performance. A more advance pianist who is particular about detail may wish to have their personal piano tuned more often throughout the year depending on conditions.
Outside of “environmental” topics, obviously food and beverages do not belong in or on the piano. Foreign objects can sometimes get lodged inside a piano action and can sometimes cause the tiny components to malfunction or become damaged. Keeping the lid and fallboard closed is a good practice as dust can accumulate and cause the action to become “sluggish”.
Pets can wreak havoc in some instances. Dogs may chew on piano legs. I have especially seen that cats like to crawl into anything they can. Beside the hair piling up in places difficult to clean, I have seen cat claw marks from running up the tilted lid on grand pianos, little cat footprints that have some litter box chemical that reacted with lacquer finishes, and even some other cat-produced byproducts in all kinds of places they do not belong. This all is of course not good for any instrument.
Pests (mice) can also contaminate all the intricate places within a piano. The mice aspect is actually very common and should be considered with any “free” piano. I’ve pulled out many-a-mouse nest and even dehydrated mice that may have been there for decades. Clean and functional is best along with a reasonably controlled “stable” environment.
More info on piano care:
https://www.ptg.org/piano/care
Me: What about placement? Where is the best place for your piano? What about humidity?
Cory: Placement of the instrument is crucial. You want to provide the most stable environment possible to help preserve the piano and also get the most out of the required service. If the best options are implemented in placing the piano as well as controlling the room environment, it will pay off in value for service and prolonging the life of the instrument.
Avoid putting a piano (or any instrument) directly in front of heating sources or in direct sunlight. Again, think stability. The more stable things are in terms of humidity and temperature the better experience you will have. High humidity (summer) months bring a spike in humidity levels which tends to make the piano’s pitch raise or go sharp well above concert pitch of A=440. During the dry season which tends to last longer in our area, moisture leaves wood, the wood shrinks and the piano’s structure gives under the tension of the strings causing the piano’s pitch to lower or go flat from A=440. So things are always in flux.
Air quality is always changing outside, and we do what we can reasonably do to keep things more consistent indoors. Some people like to run room humidifiers during the dry season. Some homes have an integrated climate control system that can regulate humidity in the air. I have observed this to be quite effective in some newer homes with a quality system installed. I’ve seen situations where these instruments are very stable compared to non-regulated environment.
Some public facilities can be a challenge in that they are required by code to circulate amounts of outside air within the building, so the condition outside will be reflected inside the building. Some HVAC systems can be regulated to help control the humidity levels inside and in different “zones” within the building.
Relatively inexpensive “hygrometer” units are available which can provide readings for room humidity and temperature levels all year. This information can help you to decide if you want to try running a humidifier or maybe locate a piano in a room that seems to have a more stable environment. There are also piano-specific humidity control systems that can be installed on the instrument which help to create a micro-climate around a pianos soundboard, ect.
Me: What about any other maintenance? (regulating?)
Cory: The “regulation” of a piano action has to do with the moving parts functioning within detailed parameters. The “key dip” or how far a key can be pressed downward, the point of “let-off” when a hammer is freely moving on its own momentum before striking a string, and the “aftertouch” are examples of regulation aspects. How the pedals function and feel can be “regulated” for performance. Regulating a piano’s action should make all the moving parts work together correctly and as efficiently as possible. A well regulated instrument will provide a feel of “evenness” that will allow a player to flow through passages evenly and provide the overall best responsiveness and tonal quality the piano can offer.
Regulation is set up initially on a “new” piano. As all the component wear and settle in, the tiny felt pieces become slightly compressed. Hammers become grooved with impressions from contacting the strings repeatedly, ect. These very slight changes occur slowly over time and have an affect on the “action” or the responsiveness of the keys, ect.
The regulation of a piano action is something that typically gets attention much less often than tuning and in many cases for in-home pianos may only get attention if something begins to obviously malfunction. The cost for this service can very from a few hundred dollars to perhaps a few thousand dollars depending on the situation. If an action needs new hammers for example and reconditioning, the cost will be much greater than a 4 hour appointment for making regulation adjustments.
Another reference pertaining to maintenance/service:
https://www.ptg.org/ptgmain/piano/care/servicing
Me: One issue that comes up in conversations with students is that they say a certain key doesn’t work well on their piano. Is this an expensive fix? What are your thoughts?
Cory: I often have clients describing a “sticking key” or a “note that doesn’t work”. The complexity of the piano as an instrument makes for a vast realm of possibilities both more or less desirable. The complex nature of pianos also means that describing components and their potential issues can be a challenge!
As for a “note that doesn’t work well” it could be a sluggish key caused by a high humidity situation. It could also be a key getting stuck between the key slip, or a worn or missing action felt. It could be in need of some regulation adjustment, or perhaps a thorough cleaning for the action and key bed/key frame. Sometimes dust and dirt can build up over time and create excessive friction to the point where it interferes with moving components. There could be a pen or pencil or other object that has fallen into the piano causing interference. Perhaps a key stick or key button has become damaged, or maybe a previous technician has slightly turned some key pins to snug up sideways play in the keys and now it is causing excessive friction not allowing the note to respond efficiently.
In the field I have found in most cases a problematic note can be a reasonable fix that I can do within a regular tuning appointment. I do charge accordingly for repair items and the cost varies with the time and difficulty involved in the repair. Some pianos require more or less disassembly to access the needed repairs, ect.
Me: Thank you very much for your time Cory! I think I learned some things. I’m also reminded it is time for me to make a tuning appointment. Would you like to share your contact information for those that are in our area?
Cory: Yes! Please feel free to contact me with any piano related inquiries or for service needs.
Cory Jacobson – Piano Technician
262-689-6043
pianotunr@gmail.com