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By: Kevin Kearns
It is a pleasure to report that a service received exceeded one’s most optimistic hopes and expectations - Barrie’s work on the repair and tuning of an elderly STECK baby grand certainly warrants this accolade. The piano appears to be about a hundred years old and it had, to say the least, been neglected – indeed over the last six years it had been located in an unoccupied property. Apart from the many other problems which required attention, a large number of the keytops had become displaced and attempts had been made to re-fix them with an inappropriate adhesive.
None of this phased Barrie. He took the Action to his workshop; he replaced all the keytops and undertook all the required repairs. Within three weeks Barrie had completed this work; he then reinstalled the Action, cleaned the frame to its former glory and tuned the piano.
This was a challenging undertaking, which Barrie completed with consummate professional skill – and considerable good humour. To say that his client is delighted, would be a very substantial understatement. One was fortunate to have had him recommended by a professional in his own field. Barrie has earned appreciation and the warmest thanks of all concerned in this project.
Kevin Kearns
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What is Piano Voicing or Toning?
Voicing is an extremely difficult area. It's subjective in the extreme, and has caused endless discussion in piano maintenance circles. But the final goal of voicing is to have the hammers striking the notes of the piano to offer a uniform sound from the bottom to the top of the instrument. Goes without saying that evaluating this capability is governed by the capability of the piano, and the construction of the action parts. But, often a technician will find extremes in voicing, such as a particularly hard hammer, which may result in a note sounding louder than the rest. But, this too can be laid at the door of regulation. This is where the tuner's skill comes into play here. Voicing can be accomplished by pricking the hammer with a set of needles. This pricking changes the structure of the felt, and softens the hammer to a degree.
What is toning?This is the reverse of voicing, and accomplishes the inverse sort of thing. May be necessary to bring up a particularly soft sounding hammer, and bring it into line with its neighbours. This is accomplished by applying a special material to the hammers or ironing with a special tool.
