I have been retired for a few years now. I have always wanted to learn how to play the piano. I bought a 1/4 grand piano for my daughter in the late '80s. Since then, the piano has almost never been played. Now I find myself having to struggle with mechanical problems and I find your suggestions very useful. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find a reliable tuner in my area. The person who sold it to me (used) is now only willing to take it back to work on it at his leisure, but I am eager to learn starting from the ABCs (Beyer etc.). The main obstacle, while waiting to find the right person, is represented by some dampers that do not react at all to the sustain pedal. Others, when lifted slightly, started working again, but one in particular, in the central area, offers no resistance and slides out. Is this a problem that can be resolved on-site, or should I agree with the person who wants to take the piano away to work on it at his leisure? Thanks to anyone who will give me directions and anyway greetings to the whole community that I intend to follow.
Welcome. We need to see what the extent of the problem is. The important thing is first to realize what needs to be done and to give rather precise or at least guiding indications. You must have seen my tutorials that talk about friction. This is what your piano is about. All the mechanics must be rechecked, and this does not only concern the parts that have now reached the limit of "movement," but all the rest of the mechanics must be rechecked as well. The pins must all be checked and eventually replaced with expertise. You must find a competent person. The work is "the life" of the mechanical functioning, and all the material used is important. Straight reamers, good pins, correct boring, and above all, increasing the size of the pins themselves. Then on-site adjustment and fine-tuning. Finally, a good tuning and voicing.
Thank you very much for the answers; I also believe it is appropriate to recheck the entire action, but I thought it could be done in a workshop by taking only that and not the whole piece of furniture. Anyway, I will try to contact another person before deciding, and fearing long wait times for my quarter grand piano, I will try to get a digital keyboard like a Kawai ES7 or ES8 just to start with something less bulky and which, from what I read, is equally suitable for learning as a beginner like myself.
Obviously the entire piano does not have to be taken away! It would be a useless and burdensome expense. Obviously, after verifying and restoring the perfect functioning of the action on the bench, a regulation of the instrument is necessary. The same goes for the dampers.
I have separately contacted a tuner who also writes occasionally here. He is from the province of Pisa and therefore quite close to my residence. I am awaiting a response and then I will make a decision, not excluding returning to my seller with much more precise ideas thanks to the advice you give. In the meantime, I continue to peek inside the piano with the help of tutorials that are making me discover a world that until now, for me, was unknown and which I find fascinating.
