Initial Service of New Imported Pianos

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    We take pride in ensuring that any new piano we sell is in top-notch condition before it is delivered. This is particularly important in the case of imported pianos. Due to changes in climate and in the process of shipping and storage, we find that many of these pianos develop problems that need to be addressed before they are delivered to the buyer. They should be carefully checked for loose screws, squeaks, regulation imperfections, and other problems. The pictures and descriptions below present some typical concerns with new imported pianos and how we address these concerns.

     You might be attracted by the price of a new imported piano on sale at your local "discount warehouse" store. If you buy it, we strongly encourage you to have a qualified tuner-technician check it out, tune it, and make any additional improvements needed. Unless you purchase from a reputable dealer who has already arranged for pre-delivery maintenance, a few hundred dollars spent on your recently purchased new piano will add years to its life.

1 – The new piano arrives in a box--from the factory in China, with many stops along the way, representing several changes in climate over a period of a month or longer. After unpacking the piano, we place it in our showroom for a few days of "acclimatizing."

2 – After removing the action, we tighten all cabinet screws. Then we test the friction of the keys to make sure they move up and down smoothly. We free up tight keys with our special "key easing pliers" or, preferably, we apply moderate heat with our "key easing iron."

3 – We place the piano on its back to inspect the casters and to tighten all screws at the bottom of the piano and the keybed.

4 – We find that squeaking noise most often comes from the lower panel. We glue thin pieces of felt on the edges to prevent polyester-to-polyester rubbing noises.

5 – We tighten the screws at the back of the piano holding the bridges in place.

6 – With the action on our workbench, we tighten all screws. Frequently, each screw needs 1/4-turn before it's tight. Tightening action screws is important to prevent wobbling of hammers or uneven wear of moving parts.

7 – With the action bolted in place, we check all regulation adjustments, making corrections where needed. Common problems include inconsistent letoff adjustments, incorrect capstan adjustments, incorrect keydip and hammer blow distance, or late spoons.

8 – We tune the new piano as often as necessary to ensure tuning stability. After it is sold, we tune it once again prior to delivery, and check all moving parts.

9 – We check hammer blow distance with a special block and with a steel ruler.

10 – To shorten hammer blow distance. we glue four thin pieces of leather under the hammer rail to bring it closer to the strings.

11 – We use a special tool to ease tight keys that are slow to repeat.

12 – When a key is pressed slowly, the hammer should "letoff" at 1/8" from the string. We adjust letoff with a special regulating tool.

13 – We use a straight edge to check levelling of keys, and adjust with balance rail punchings where necessary.

14 – We insert or remove punchings from underneath the front of the keys to regulate "keydip" to precisely 13/32"

15 – We use our "spoon bender" tool for regulating damper spoons: dampers should begin to lift off the strings  when the hammer has moved half-way toward the strings.

16 – For optimum sound at the top treble end, we may adjust the point where the hammers strike the strings by moving the action up or down.

17 – On some models, we drill a hole into the underside of the keybed to ensure that the spring can move high enough for removing the lower panel.

18 – In some cases, we enlarge the hole in the knob holding in the fallboard and install a felt washer, to prevent the screw from turning when the knob is turned.

19 – On ebony polish pianos we glue felt pieces under panels to eliminate squeaking when the pedals are used.

20 – We also glue felt on the panels to eliminate squeaking.

21 – To eliminate squeaks we also glue felt tabs into the corners of the bench before installing the legs.

22 – Finally, we tune the piano and install a "Service Record" on the underside of the lid, so the buyer is aware of the work that has been completed.

23 – We install a colorful "Ray's Piano Service" label on the piano plate so that the new owner can find us when they need us in the future.

24 – When ready for sale, the piano is displayed in our showroom.