<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: Routine Maintenance - Minor reg. & voice</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> - Martin wrote... > I'm curious to know what  can be done as routine maintenance at t= he > same time of the tuning. You know, nothing extremely time-consuming,<B= R> > but at the same time, giving the customer more than he expects > and hopefully generating goodwill at the same time. > > Thoughts? > > Martin > Martin,     As a part of every service call, I check out the 'l= et-off timing' situation, which falls under the regulation heading, and... I evalua= te the 'eveness' (I don't think 'eveness' is a word, but you get the idea) of tone, which is in= the voicing field. I spend a little time in one or both of these are= as as a part ofregular service.      I encourage the customer to have their piano = serviced on a regular basis, and as a motivation for them to do so, I point out these deficencies= , and make these improvments, in small steps, as a part of my regular service.  On a vertical, these tw= o procedures can be handled quicker than on the grand.  With a grand, if= the customer will commit to regular service, there will come a time when the<BR= > tuning has settled down, and this will allow some time to do some minor regulation and voicing.  Another choice I offer is to plug in a regulation/voicing only session, once tuning has settled down.     Why let-off timing?  One of the 'biggest bangs= for the buck' procedures, which is so valuable to the musician, is to see if efficency can be improve= d in this 'let-off timing' arena.  If escapment is happening too early,<= BR> pianissimo playing becomes impossible, and 'average' playing response (soun= d energy) is reduced during 'normal' playing.  Forte, or the maximum en= ergy transimited to the hammer, would also be reduced if escapment is happening too early.  In particu= lar, early escapment forces the musician to play 'harder', just to make sure the note sounds. After cor= recting this problem, I re-educate the player about the new dynamic possibilities of the= ir instrument. (i.e., now see how much control you have over pianissimo playin= g?)        Voicing for 'eveness' means first= fitting the wire to the hammer, by leveling the wire, and/or filing the hammer to fit the profile of the wire.= This procedure will improve the clairty of the note. Look for the worst offenders in the middle octaves where the piano is used the most. There are= simple tests to check for these 'open' strings, and several methods for correcting them.      Quite often, some unisons will sound harsher = than others, which is a natural result of the instrument being played. I use a single needle to bring down the offenders. I consult with the musician about voicing. Some<B= R> folks want to hear trumpets when they play.      I leave myself a note on my business card in = the piano, of what I did and what needs to be done next time. I try to get the customer involved in<= BR> the 'progress' I am making in improving their instrument. It generates lots= of goodwill.       If you are coming to the national conve= ntion and want to pursue this topic, check out the class "Performance R= egulation and Voicing in Everyday Service." Dan Reed Richardson, Texas </BODY> </HTML>