What is Regulation & Why Is It So Important?
How precise & controlled each key plays can be summarized by how well a piano or a piano’s action is regulated.
I sent this to my niece this morning who is considering trading in her vertical piano for a grand.
[4/5/25, 6:48:30 AM] 88 ON PITCH: If you could, lift the top lid up so you can see inside the piano’s action (the hammers are what I’m concern about). If you don’t know, those are the white felt q-tip looking things that hit the strings when you depressed a key.
If you play any key so that it takes 3-5 seconds to slowly push down the key from its resting state to fully being depressed, look at the hammer moving forward. If you are doing this slow enough, it should not cause the note to sound/play, only movements of the action and hammer.
If you push really slowly, does the hammer drop back away from the strings about 1/8” or even closer? Or does it look like it’s dropping around 1/4”? You may need to grab your father to help you.
This is only one of the things done to help optimize control in regulation, called “letoff”. But of course, there are many more adjustments that need to be made.
[4/5/25, 6:57:57 AM] 88 ON PITCH: The bigger issue is this: many pro-model uprights/verticals can sometimes outplay grands, but it depends on a load of factors. Generally, grand pianos SHOULD really outplay vertical pianos all day due to the action setup.
The action on verticals IS vertically laid out so the hammer is pivoting on a vertical axis. It relies on the hammers’ springs and these things called bridal wires to snap the hammer back to help pull it back home to ready it for repetition.
On grand pianos, the action is laid on its back and the hammers are basically lying down on their backs. When they hit the strings, the force rebounds the hammer back down (gravity helps pull it down). Grands are also equipped with double escapement, meaning you can depress a key, let it up a very little way, the repeat the note again and it will work. This is due to a “repetition lever” the hammer rests on. It’s a triangle design of multiple pieces working together to allow the escapement piece, called a jack, to reset and allow the hammer to strike the string without having to return the key all the way back home. I bet your vertical, if regulated correctly, would come somewhat close to being able to do this, but no where near the precision the grand can achieve it to.
If your parents are looking at a grand piano, they need to make sure their technician understands how actions work. If they buy from a dealer, is the dealer reputable? Have the adjusted and regulated the action correctly?
IF the piano is brand new, the factory should have it well regulated. IF it’s used and being sold in a dealership, it should already be regulated but isn’t always done so. Or if it’s done, did the technician do a good job.
Without having a technician see the action and test it to know if the job was done correctly, the pianist can usually feel it as simply as saying that the action feels VERY responsive and dynamic to most anything you are doing with the key performance.
An example of Randy changing a piano’s key height.
9 out of 10 times, fixing a piano costs much less than buying a used one, and far less than a new one.
Vertical pianos cost between $6,000 and $20,000 while grand pianos range from $8,000 to over $100,000. If your piano is structurally sound and still has good components in the action, I can restore its tone & playing performance with a series of comprehensive adjustments.
However, if your piano is old and has worn-out parts, it might be better to consider refurbishing, restoring, or replacing it.
When You Need To Regulate
When the keys feel difficult to play
When many keys are slow or sticking
When the piano has lost its ability to play dynamically
How Often Should You Regulate?
In the first 5 years of a piano’s life after leaving the factory, then once every 8 to 10 years +/-. One of the following options should suffice as a regulation for your piano:
concert prep
mid-level regulation
complete action regulation
What is done in a Concert Prep or Complete Action Regulation?
I work on correcting the timing of the internal action parts (the components which allow all 88 keys to make the strings vibrate). I reset the amount of friction between the parts and correctly space & align them so they achieve their optimal efficiency.
Pianos have 88 hammers made of wood & felt. When is one key is played, 60 action parts move to push a hammer into the string. The more you use your piano, the more the felt becomes impacted and develops grooves. One aspect of regulation is shaping/filing/spacing/traveling/squaring the hammers (also known as tone building or “voicing”). By voicing the hammers, I can return the shape and density of each of the hammers to maximize their tone.
I also level off the heights of each of the 88 keys and how far down they travel downward. This gives the pianist more control.
How Long Will It Last?
A concert prep or complete action regulation can last for years. Much of it depends on the quality of the materials, the amount of use the piano receives, & how consistent the humidity surrounding the piano is.
Uneven Keys
Uneven keys causes inconsistency and control in how your fingers depress each key. These keys will be ‘leveled’ by replacing, removing, or adding paper/cardboard/felts punchings below each key as one step of an action regulation sequence.
Leveled Keys
Each key has now been lifted and shimmed at the ‘balance rail’, or the fulcrum, in order to raise or lower it to the appropriate height. This will aid in a much more consistent action performance.
Hammer Filing
Each of the 88 keys engages a “hammer” to come into contact with a string or set 2 to 3 strings. Hammer felt is comprised of dense, resilient wool that can last for years or decades. As the piano is played over the years, stringing grooves develop in the tip of the hammers (called the strike point) which changes the tone quality of the piano. This is how pianos become ‘too bright’ or tinny sounding.
These hammers have been ‘shaped’ or ‘filed’ to remove the grooves in give the hammers the contour they need to ready themselves for years of more use.
Hammers Traveled, Spaced, & Squared
Since piano action parts are made mostly of maple wood chosen for its ability to withstand years of use and its dense but lightweight composition, they eventually need alignment adjustments.
In this photo, the hammers are being ‘traveled’, meaning we are ensuring the hammer shanks (wooden dowels attached to the hammer felt) rise straight up to meet the strings and not angled to the left or right.
The hammer heads are also “squared” so that, at their resting position, they are at a perfect 90 degree angle and not crooked.
Each of the 88 hammers is also spaced uniformly so there is clearance from one hammer to the other. Hammers too close to each other cause slow or sticking keys.
Action Corrected
All 5,000 parts are timed and recondition so that your piano plays at its peak level. This work takes about 3 days. Your piano will love you for it!