Repairs & Restorations

Piano Repairs

We offer a Wide Range of Repair Services

And can generally fix Anything on nearly Any Type of Piano!!

From small Spinets to Consoles and Studio Size Uprights...even the 5 Ft tall 'Upright Grands' can be Repaired, so they Play and Sound Beautiful!! Baby Grands---Antique Parlor Grands—even Concert Grands... All can be fixed and adjusted to Improve their Musical Performance. Regardless of Age, Rob has a large stock of new and used parts on hand, and can special order as needed.

Specializing in Antique Piano Restoration... Tuning and Repair.

Price for Repairs is quoted in advance before any work is performed...upon approval.

Good Piano Maintenance also includes Cleaning the Instrument, both Inside and Out!!
Rob is an Expert at Cleaning Pianos. Prices are quoted before any work is done.

The Serial Number used to find the exact Date of Manufacture, shown in bold Black numerals. Located above the right side of the Keyboard, near the Tuning Pins.

You Name It - We Can Fix It!!!!!

Call Rob Gardener Today for more information!

856-701-4064

Repair Services We Offer

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REPAIRS INCLUDE:

  • Sticky Keys and Sluggish Keys
  • Broken Notes.... Broken Hammers... Chipped and Broken Keys
  • Broken Strings
  • Loose Wobbly Legs and Benches
  • Improving Key-touch and Sensitivity through 'Action Regulation'
  • Noisy Mechanism
  • Poor Tone....Rattles.... Buzzes....Notes not Sounding.... etc
  • Piano Cabinet Repairs-- Loose or Broken Lids--Keyboard Cover, etc.
  • Felt and Spring Repairs and Replacement

MISC REPAIRS

  • Voicing
  • Hinges: Tighten and/or Replace looses Hinges
  • Grand Piano Lids: Adjust as needed
  • Lid Prop on Grands: Check for Safety, Tighten and/or Replace loose hinge
  • Bench Repair: Tighten Loose Legs
HAMMER REPAIRS
  • Alignment to Strings and Spacing of Rubbing Hammers
  • Tighten Loose Wobbly Hammers
  • Voicing of Hammers to Improve Tone
KEYBOARD ADJUSTMENT
  • Leveling Keys
  • Mushy Key-touch... or 'Lost Motion'
  • Rattley and Wobbly Keys
  • Crooked Keys.... can be straightened
PEDALS REPAIRS
  • Pad and Adjust Noisy Pedals
  • Fix Broken Pedals
  • Adjust Pedal Rods and Levers for Smooth Quiet Movement
  • On Grands: Repair Broken Lyra (wooden Pedal Frame)
  • All types of Pedal Repair !!

Piano Voicing

What Is Voicing?

After a piano is properly tuned, a technique known as 'Voicing' can be used to drastically change and improve the tone of the instrument. An excessively bright tone can be mellowed, eliminating harshness. Likewise, if the tone is too mellow, the notes will not 'sing'. The correct balance throughout the 8 octave range from the bass to the treble will give a well-rounded sound that is full and expressive.

In voicing, old worn hammers are often filed and reshaped to their original teardrop shape, eliminating old grooves and string-cuts, so that the hammer strikes the string with clean felt. The hammers are then aligned to the strings so that they strike correctly, with full force. (If you have a Grand Piano, the soft (left) pedal will not work properly unless the hammers are properly aligned to the strings.)

Finally, the hammers are 'needled' (if needed), to soften the felt and eliminate excessive brightness and harshness. Additionally, it may be necessary to harden the hammers if they are too soft, using chemical solutions.

Notice how clean these 40 year old hammers are in the picture, after Rob Filed them smooth for good string contact.
(This is the first step in 'Voicing' )

Hammer Repair

Here is a front view shot of piano hammers

Piano Regulation

Grand Piano Action, shown out of the piano on workbench.
Ready for Regulation !!

Piano Restorations

Victorian Styling, Beautiful Exotic Woods Ornate Hand-Carved Music Desk

Old Pianos have the Uniqueness & Charm that Antique Collectors Love! They will become the focal point of any room & will provide your Family Generations of Musical Enjoyment if properly cared for, preserving the Golden Age of Piano Building & a piece of History & Americana.

"They don't build 'em like they used to!"

This certainly holds true regarding the big upright pianos built between the 1880's and 1940.

Ranging from 4 feet to 4' 10" tall, these pianos will take up only a bit more floor space than a smaller spinet or console size piano, but will generally have a much better Tone (particularly in the Bass) due to the larger soundboard and longer string length. They got the name "Upright Grand" and "Cabinet Grand" because their string length and soundboard were equivalent to a 5' 3" Baby Grand piano.

Mechanically, these Antique Pianos are almost identical to Instruments manufactured today, as the piano has not really been changed much in the last 120 years or so. Replacement parts, strings, hammers, etc. are still available from suppliers.

Most of my Antique Pianos (pre 1940) have required additional work (100 to 300 hours!) which includes:

  • Complete Action (mechanical) Rebuilding
  • New leathers, new felts, springs, and straps
  • New keytops if needed
  • Ivory Keytops - Chipped or broken Ivory is replaced with used Ivory
  • Keyboard completely repadded with new felts and adjusted
  • New damper Felt if needed
  • New Bass Strings or Treble strings when needed
  • Veneer and Cabinet repair
  • Refinished (where noted)
  • Pedals are Polished and Rebuilt for 'Silent Running'
  • Tuning....Several Tunings to A-440 (unless otherwise noted)

Past Restorations

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Antique Chickering Piano 1985

Piano Services Offered

Piano Repairs
 
Piano Tunings
 
Piano Cleanings
 
Piano Restorations
 
Piano Evaluations
 

Contact Rob Today to Schedule an Appointment

Landline: 856-795-4128
Cell: 856-701-4064 Basic Inquiries

Email: rob@crystalclearpianos.com
For Questions or Photos

Appointments are booked ONLY by Phone!!
No Text appointments accepted without prior verbal discussion.

NOTE: I cannot answer long Technical Questions by Text,
so Please call me and Let's Talk the Old-Fashioned way!!!!