Piano.
- Thread starter Amelie
- Start date
You could possibly fix it yourselves but tbh you'd probably be better off finding a piano tuner in the yellow pages & paying them an hour's labour to do it for you. In that time they'll probably fix all the keys, correct any really bad tuning and give you an idea of what sort of order it's in.
Cool thing to buy by the way
Do you play or is it for the kids mainly?
Cool thing to buy by the way
Do you play or is it for the kids mainly?
I take it you didnt get it viewed by a professional beforehand?
My uncle had one for years, his ex wifes, and the missus wanted it as he was going to throw it out. It ended up at the tip because it would have costed in excess of a grand to sort it
Shame, cos I wanted to plinky plonky Jam the Dance dead loud
My uncle had one for years, his ex wifes, and the missus wanted it as he was going to throw it out. It ended up at the tip because it would have costed in excess of a grand to sort it
Shame, cos I wanted to plinky plonky Jam the Dance dead loud
The most likely reason the keys are sticking is from a lack of regular service and care this isnt a real problem and can be sorted no probs . I'd say the piano needs a good going over and needs to be tuned, maybe a couple of times close together to get the piano on pitch and stable. You really can do no better than let a proffesional have a look at it as you have no chance of sorting it yourself , infact you'll probably make it worse. The mechanics are quite complexed with your keys and hammers so it would be a bit like trying to rebiuld an engine from scratch if you had no clue what you were doing. In short, as long as your strings , string dampners , hammers and keys are all intact a piano tuner would be well worth your money now and in the long run . If you decide to try and tune it yourself then ( and ive only watched this) your best bet is to tune a series of notes from the mid-range as best you can using a tuning fork ( about an octave long ) and using this as a reference tune the rest of your piano ....... like i said before it will be almost immpossible and you'd be better off getting someone in .
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I used to tune organs in churches and cathedrals, but after looking inside my dad's piano when I was a kid, it's not something i'd try myself.
We used wd40 on sticky keys, but that's really only a short term fix and only for certain situations.
We used wd40 on sticky keys, but that's really only a short term fix and only for certain situations.
I wouldn't even attempt tuning it yourself, that's a high precision and very time consuming job. It requires a trained ear, and to be honest even with a tuning fork the chances of you getting a decent result are slim i'd say.
You might be able to fix stuck keys if there aren't too many and they aren't too bad just by freeing up the mechanism in a couple of places.
Pianos are mechanical after all so there's no black magic to it, but for anything more than the very basics (freeing up, lubricating the odd stuck lever where you can get at the problem without stripping it down) then get a pro in.
Difficult to say for sure without knowing more about it, but if you get lucky you might find a tuner who will come in and just do the basic stuff to get it working, and quickly correct the worst tuning flaws. I say "get lucky" because the times i've dealt with piano tuners, they are craftsmen. Very meticulous and precise. They will tune an instrument until it's as close to perfect as it can be, or not at all.
If you've bought it as a serious instrument and an investment then you might want to go down that road, but if it was something relatively inexpensive and mainly just for fun and fooling around on, then if you can get a "quick and dirty" tuning job done so it sounds OK, & then have a look at the stuck keys yourself then you'll probably save a bundle. A pro will more than likely want to spend time on it getting it perfect (or as close as poss).
Worth saying also that it's a good idea to wait a while before getting it tuned, as it will need to settle into it's new home for a while first. Different moisture levels compared with its old home, and just the act of moving it will all have an effect on it staying in tune. If you get it tuned today 2 weeks from now it will more than likely be off again.
You might be able to fix stuck keys if there aren't too many and they aren't too bad just by freeing up the mechanism in a couple of places.
Pianos are mechanical after all so there's no black magic to it, but for anything more than the very basics (freeing up, lubricating the odd stuck lever where you can get at the problem without stripping it down) then get a pro in.
Difficult to say for sure without knowing more about it, but if you get lucky you might find a tuner who will come in and just do the basic stuff to get it working, and quickly correct the worst tuning flaws. I say "get lucky" because the times i've dealt with piano tuners, they are craftsmen. Very meticulous and precise. They will tune an instrument until it's as close to perfect as it can be, or not at all.
If you've bought it as a serious instrument and an investment then you might want to go down that road, but if it was something relatively inexpensive and mainly just for fun and fooling around on, then if you can get a "quick and dirty" tuning job done so it sounds OK, & then have a look at the stuck keys yourself then you'll probably save a bundle. A pro will more than likely want to spend time on it getting it perfect (or as close as poss).
Worth saying also that it's a good idea to wait a while before getting it tuned, as it will need to settle into it's new home for a while first. Different moisture levels compared with its old home, and just the act of moving it will all have an effect on it staying in tune. If you get it tuned today 2 weeks from now it will more than likely be off again.
i love the old pianeeee
reminds me of crimbles s a nipper, uncle knobhead tinkling the ivorys and us family together all stood round in our paper hats out the crimble crackrs, all fat n full andfter a mammoth sized crimble dinner singing carols
i want a piano now
reminds me of crimbles s a nipper, uncle knobhead tinkling the ivorys and us family together all stood round in our paper hats out the crimble crackrs, all fat n full andfter a mammoth sized crimble dinner singing carols
i want a piano now
Ive got a piano. Tuning it is easier than people think to be honest. all you need are mutes, a tuning spanner and a electronic tuning meter, and TIME lol.
There are loads of walk through guides on line like this one Tuning a Piano Yourself--A Simple Tutorial
If your are wanting to repair anything though thats a different matter. get a profeesional in as you will definately balls it up. Your sticky keys may just be down to the fact its been hardly played and may free up of ther own accord.
Word of warning though...if niether of you can play then prepare yourselves for weeks of excruciating pain and annoyance!! Oh and apologise to your neighbours now!
I got mine of an old biddy down the road with my only goal to learn Chas and Dave style songs on it... 5 years later i still havent lol
There are loads of walk through guides on line like this one Tuning a Piano Yourself--A Simple Tutorial
If your are wanting to repair anything though thats a different matter. get a profeesional in as you will definately balls it up. Your sticky keys may just be down to the fact its been hardly played and may free up of ther own accord.
Word of warning though...if niether of you can play then prepare yourselves for weeks of excruciating pain and annoyance!! Oh and apologise to your neighbours now!
I got mine of an old biddy down the road with my only goal to learn Chas and Dave style songs on it... 5 years later i still havent lol
Shooms
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- Jul 18, 2001
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Get the profs in Best way.
As well as DJ'ing (badly), I also play the guitar (badly) & the piano (worse)...
That said before I shuffle offthis mortal coil I WILL nail these bleeders...
YouTube - The Way It Is Bruce Hornsby- Ben's Life Pics
YouTube - The 5 Browns - 18th Variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
YouTube - Canon in D Duet with violin and piano
Best way.As well as DJ'ing (badly), I also play the guitar (badly) & the piano (worse)...
That said before I shuffle offthis mortal coil I WILL nail these bleeders...
YouTube - The Way It Is Bruce Hornsby- Ben's Life Pics
YouTube - The 5 Browns - 18th Variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
YouTube - Canon in D Duet with violin and piano
Get the profs in
As well as DJ'ing (badly), I also play the guitar (badly) & the piano (worse)...
That said before I shuffle offthis mortal coil I WILL nail these bleeders...
YouTube - The Way It Is Bruce Hornsby- Ben's Life Pics
YouTube - The 5 Browns - 18th Variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
YouTube - Canon in D Duet with violin and piano
I had lessons as a kid & really regret not sticking with it. Me sis did and has played for years, whereas I did just enough to get some music theory qualifications then binned it off to concentrate on different instruments. If I have one big regret it's that.
YouTube - Wilhelm Kempff plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata mvt. 1
YouTube - Sergei Rachmaninov plays his piano concerto No 2
See your aiming way to high m8
I have set my target as being
YouTube - How to play the Cockney Intro on Piano
YouTube - Chas And Dave - Gertcha [totp2]
YouTube - chas dave
YouTube - Chas and Dave Sideboard Song
YouTube - Down to Margate Chas and dave
Manage to learn them walk into any pub or beer tent and start playing them and you will be a god.
Nothing better than a honky tonk style piano,none of that classical bollox
its humidity causes piano keys to stick m8 or the key slips may be warped...you can loosen the key slip on keys, this can fix it. or you can put a bit of cardboard between the key slip and the key block...if you dont know owt bout pianos really id say call a technician in..quite expensive like...hope this helps..
