Help!! — Pianoconcerto Forum

Gianni1959

Member

Posts: 3
City: Gorla Minore

March 20, 2024, 08:51

Hello everyone,

I have a 1984 Kawai KG2-D, which I decided to have refurbished last November. I asked for several quotes and, since they were more or less aligned within the same order of magnitude, I decided to entrust the work to the most "renowned" one, even if slightly more expensive than the others (I won't name names out of politeness - they are from Milan). The work performed, in addition to obviously cleaning, polishing the keyboard, and other less important things, included:

replacement of the hammer rail with an Abel one (heads, shanks, felt) and voicing/regulation of it.

overhaul and regulation of the action, keyboard, etc..

replacement of the last 3 octaves of treble strings (I would have liked to change them all, but the technician advised me to change only these which, according to him, are the ones that lose tension the most).

adjustment of the soundboard crown pressure.

expense around 7000 euros.

Disappointing result. The sound is good in the mid-low and treble parts, but weak in the last low octave/tenth. The middle part is unlistenable; even in piano or mezzo-forte passages, just pressing a little harder and the sound immediately becomes very harsh, it sounds distorted. There are several strange resonances; in particular, the E below middle C produces a sort of "spike," a whistle, even when played not very loudly. At first, I blamed the environment (before the overhaul the piano was in a room approximately 5x6x3, now in a room approximately 3.5x3x3) and I proceeded to build and apply about fifteen sound-absorbing panels which made the room significantly more muffled, but almost nothing changed. After delivery, the technician intervened to fix some hammers that weren't working correctly, and on that occasion, he also touched up the voicing, but the more I play it, the less I like it.

Could it be that the hammer voicing needs to be completely redone? Could it be that the installed hammer rail is not suitable for my piano? (incidentally, one of the technicians consulted had absolutely advised me against installing a hammer rail different from the original, but he was the only one). Could it be imperfect tuning? Could it be that the soundboard pressure adjustment was not performed correctly? What else? What do you advise me to do? I thought about turning to another technician, but I am afraid of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Do you know anyone in my area who is absolutely reliable to whom I can submit this issue?

Thank you all for your attention.

p.s. My wife, who allowed me to spend that amount to fix the piano, wanted to beat me up when she found out I wasn't happy with the work! If I were to decide to change it, I would have to divorce first! Help me!!!

francescochopin90

Member

Posts: 355
City: .

March 20, 2024, 09:08

It seems like an intonation problem, but I would wait for pianoexpert's opinion regarding the intervention on the soundboard. It doesn't matter if the hammer rail is original, but rather whether it is suitable and well-prepared.

Gianni1959

Member

Posts: 3
City: Gorla Minore

March 20, 2024, 13:25

Thank you Francesco for your contribution.

pianoexpert

Moderator

Posts: 3,876
City: rocca di papa

March 20, 2024, 23:18

One must see how the action has been modified! Whether it is more or less regulated. I hope it returned the old hammers and shanks mounted. This allows one to check if there was an error on the striking point! This can also modify the tonal quality. Individual hammers that sound bad must be checked to see if, at the moment of impact, they touch all three strings or just two strings simultaneously. Then one must perfectly tune.... regulate and voice the hammers. After years, the bass strings might have become tonally poor. Changing the strings, yes, but also understanding the entire cantabile area. In short, too many things changed simultaneously, especially partially, sometimes do not lead to good results. The variables become interdependent and can interact negatively if certain principles have not been respected. The best thing is to call back the person who did the work and show your dissatisfactions. I believe that Abel hammer actions are excellent and the one suitable for the KG2 is, in my opinion, better than the original. Naturally, it must be one of those impregnated ones and the keyboard balance must be checked. Returning the old hammer action (mounted on shanks) is FUNDAMENTAL to check compliance with the drill holes and the striking points:

Gianni1959

Member

Posts: 3
City: Gorla Minore

March 21, 2024, 07:25

Thank you Paolo. The hammers were not returned to me, I will ask if it is still possible to have them.

Honestly, whoever performed the work for me is considered one of the best technicians; I don't think they made gross errors like the incorrect drilling and so on. I hope they can fix the piano properly and that there are no serious problems such as the imperfect adherence of the bridge to the soundboard, since the "distorted" sound I hear (I don't know if it is just my impression) varies over time, sometimes more evident, sometimes less. When the technician corrected the tuning of some hammers, he told me that he cannot remove the resonance (that "spike" I feel on the E below middle C), and this already worries me a lot. Let's hope. Otherwise, I will try to turn to someone else.

Thank you again and have a good day.