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Learn how to SAFELY tune your piano
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Piano Tuning How To
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TOOLS
Begin with the right tools
When starting to venture into tuning your own piano, your main and first concern will be choosing the right tools.
The piano tuning tools technology is in constant evolution and it is difficult to evaluate the best options in a short period of time.
PianoTuningHowTo have done extensive research on that manner and we are confident that the piano tuning tools that we have chosen for you will be your best choice.
You need to be incredibly careful when choosing your tools because if you chose the wrong ones, they could lead you to failure.
If you fail, you will never know if it was because of the bad tools you have chosen or your lack of ability to learn the trade.
I have find a lot of misinformation on the web as to what tools you should begin with.
So, I took on me to choose the right tools for you so that we both move at the same speed.
The student quality piano tuning lever with its one piece tip-head USED TO BE a good option for a limited budget but now with the very good quality tuning levers produced in China, you are better off getting one of those tools on eBay or Amazon .
The next tuning lever is your minimum. It is made in China but is of good quality. A good starting point.
If you follow PianoTuningHowTo's teachings, your ideal tuning lever is the ball handle. There are a few available for less than $ 100 on eBay.
HERE IS THE ULTIMATE TUNING LEVER
You've certainly heard of the carbon fiber tuning levers? Those are very expensive but you can get a Chinese made that works like this one for much cheaper than the USA made carbon fiber tuning levers.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE:
If you are serious about tuning your own piano, you deserve it to yourself NOT to get the cheapest piano tuning lever for it will not serve you well.
AVOID THE GOOSENECK TYPE OF TUNING LEVERS AT ALL COST!
This type of tuning levers will damage your piano and your learning will suffer.
The head and tip are of poor quality and this tuning lever wobbles around the tuning pins making it extremely hard to "feel" the pins even for an experience piano tuner like me.
Papp's mute to tune higher notes
I will show you how and why it is better to use Papp's treble mute to tune the upper region of the piano. Here is an animation about this that you can also find on the "about" page:
The Bass Muting Wedges
The Narrow Muting Wedge
This tool is especially important. You won’t need it often but when you do need it, you'll be glad you have it. It is used to mute two strings that are too close together so a regular bass mute or even a regular treble rubber mute won’t work.
The Electronic Tuning Device
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Here is a list of Electronic piano tuning Devices that are worth considering. I have ordered them by price from the most affordable ones to the more advanced machines.
You can get a very cheap tuning device like the Korg CA-40 Large Display Auto Chromatic Tuner for under $20 to start (and it WILL work) I have tested this machine with my Peterson V-SAM strobe tuner and it was giving me the same reading so both machines came out with the same results.
But as soon as you get more "serious" about piano tuning, you will want to move to the next quality level with the Korg OT-120 Wide 8 Octave Chromatic Orchestral Tuner for around $75.
If you plan on producing videos for your website or recording live music of your band's rehearsal, you might as well go for the fantastic ZOOM H2 audio recorder with built in chromatic tuner and metronome. I consider this tool a better fit than the next one, the more expensive Peterson Virtual Strobe Tuner. If you are into music like a lot of piano tuners are, you will like the added features that the Zoom H2 will give you.
This is a very versatile tool. The Zoom H2 has 4 internal microphones and can capture audio in stereo and 4 channels surround. It can be used as a USB mic for recording your voice in your computer with pristine clarity. It can be used as an MP3 player with the included stereo headphones. Most importantly, it has a built-in chromatic tuner you can use to tune pianos. Double this with an internal metronome, it is the perfect tool to evaluate the beat-rates of intervals when establishing the temperament. For under $400, you cannot go wrong.
Peterson AutoStrobe 490 Strobe Tuner
I've been using the Peterson Virtual Strobo-tuner VS-1 for many years. Unfortunately, it is not available anymore and you are better off with the StroboSoft for your mobile phone.
Another alternative is TuneLab Piano Tuner for Pocket PCs, Smartphones or your LapTop.
Notable features:
- Can be calibrated to an accuracy of 0.02 cents.
- Measures and uses inharmonicity of the piano to construct the tuning.
- Provides an over-pull mode for pitch-raises.
- Can store hundreds of tuning files for individual pianos.
- Provides many historical temperaments for period music.
- Switches notes automatically when you play the next note.
- Provides a strobe-like phase display for fine-tuning.
- Provides a versatile spectrum display with a Fourier Transform.
The top level electronic piano tuner is the Peterson AutoStrobe 490 Strobe Tuner at $842 for advance piano tuners.
Your tool kit should look like this one
• Pro Tuning Lever
• 4" long head-tip #2 for grand pianos at 5 degree angle
• Muting Felt strip - 7/32" thick x 50" long - Tapered from 3/4" to 1/2" wide
• John Walker Tuning Fork (A-440)
• Papps Treble Mute
• Narrow Mute 6" x 1/2"
• 2 Bass Felt Mutes 3" x 3/4"
• Tip Wrench, the perfect tool for changing tuning tips (and for tightening the tips)
• 4" long head-tip #2 for grand pianos at 5 degree angle
• Muting Felt strip - 7/32" thick x 50" long - Tapered from 3/4" to 1/2" wide
• John Walker Tuning Fork (A-440)
• Papps Treble Mute
• Narrow Mute 6" x 1/2"
• 2 Bass Felt Mutes 3" x 3/4"
• Tip Wrench, the perfect tool for changing tuning tips (and for tightening the tips)
On eBay you will find complete sets of many tools in one single package. Those look like the following picture. You will find piano tuning tools from the tuning lever to regulating and action repair tools. I can confirm those are quality tools (I have tried them myself) A very good buy at around $349.
You will also find more affordable tool kit with 19 pieces at eBay for around $150.
Please do stay away from lots of junk sold on eBay and Amazon like the following picture.
Click here to get my piano tuning tutorial videoCOMPLETE TUNING TOOL KIT FOR $375CAD
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INFO
The piano adjustment tools described by Don Affleck
After piano tuning tools, the most used piano repair tools in piano servicing are the Regulating Tools. These tools are used to make fine adjustments to the action of the piano so that all the parts move at the correct time and the correct distance.
This is a very important aspect of piano service so that the piano not only sounds in tune but also responds quickly & easily to the performer's touch.
There are over 60 different piano repair tools for regulating the action of the piano. Here are just a few of the most common piano repair tools.
This is a very handy Combination Handle that fits most of the regulating tools. Tools are secured and released by a slight turn of the compressing nut.
This tool, called a Key Spacer, is used to move the keys from side to side so that they are spaced evenly along the keyboard. Each key is guided by an oval shaped pin that protrudes into the bottom of the key. When this pin is bent sideways it causes the key to move in the same direction. The offset in the tool enables the technician to bypass the front row of pins when adjusting the pins under the sharp keys.
The Damper Regulator pictured above, is used to adjust the damper head so that it is seated properly on the piano string. The damper must be lined up with the string properly so that the string will stop sounding as soon as the key is released, allowing the damper to return to rest on the string. This tool is used to bend the damper wire forward, backward or to the side, as required.
This Action Flange Screwdriver is specially designed for turning those hard to reach action screws. The shank is thinner just behind the blade to allow the screwdriver to bypass the jack in an upright piano action when turning the flange screw behind it.
This Spoon Bender is angled to facilitate getting under and around the whippens without removing the piano action. There is a "spoon" at the back of the whippen (the lower part of the piano action), that moves the damper away from the string when the piano key is depressed allowing the string to vibrate until the key is released and the damper returns to rest on the string, silencing it.
These spoons must be adjusted so that the damper moves away from the string at the right time and the proper distance. This is one of the more difficult parts on a piano action to regulate.
This Regulating Screwdriver has a very unique design in that the 3/8" diameter ball end has crossing, oval openings that allow Regulating Eye Screws to be turned at any 90° angle. This certainly helps to eliminate breaking the Regulating Screws when adjusting them. By the way, this adjustment determines the point at which the hammer is released just before contacting the string.
This Spring Hook tool is useful for positioning hammer and damper springs on upright pianos. These are the springs that return the hammer or damper to its place of rest after a note has been played.
The Capstan Screwdriver is used to adjust the dowels that are at the end of the piano keys. This adjustment must be made to take up any "lost motion" that may be in the action. The hammer should begin to move toward the string at the same time that the key begins to go down. If the hammer does not move until after the key has been part way depressed, then there is lost motion in the action which needs to be corrected.
The Capstan Wrench performs the same regulation as the Capstan Screwdriver, only it is used when the capstans at the ends of the keys are screws rather than dowels.
There are many more piano repair tools for every aspect of piano servicing.
Wow, it’s interesting to know how precise the calibration should be on pianos. I’m interested in looking for a good piano tuner service soon because I want to make my old piano to be more than just decoration. It hasn’t been used in years so a lot of restoration will have to be done to it.