Regulation 

Most of the moving parts in a piano are made of wood and woolen felt. These materials are organic. Wood swells and shrinks with fluctuation in humidity and temperature. Felt is subject to wear and compression. Over time, the many interacting parts of the piano may be compromised by wear and the pianist might find that the piano becomes inconsistent or even non-functioning.  Regulation compensates for wear and compression of parts over time, and can restore your piano to a pleasing uniform feel throughout the keys.

Repairs

String Replacement - Over time strings begin to lose their elasticity and become more rigid.  Also, fluctuations in humidity will cause the strings to begin to rust. Occasionally, even new strings may be faulty and may contain weak spots in the wire. These circumstances make the strings more likely to break when being re-stretched during the tuning process.   When this happens, after being replaced, the string must be stretched many times to attain the stability to stay up to the pitch that is required.

Parts Replacement - As mentioned in the above Regulation section, most parts are made of wood and woolen felt.  As the piano ages and goes through cycles of temperature and humidity changes, as well as frequent playing, the parts wear and become very brittle.  When these parts become worn, glue joints and the wood itself become more likely to break.  Many procedures can be performed in the home. But when certain problems become a trend, it may be time to replace all of the parts.

Damper System Repair - The strings of a piano are dampened by felt that over time can become compressed and even begin to tear.  When the felt becomes worn, some notes on the piano could ring longer than the others.  When the felt is compressed, it could produce a metallic “zinging” sound when the damper meets the string.  The felt is connected to a wooden damper head. The damper head is attached to the top of a metal wire. This wire inserts into a wooden lever behind the action of the piano.  This lever can be put into motion by the back of the key or the damper pedal. Most damping problems can be repaired by making slight bends in the wire to allow the felt on the damper head to rest more squarely on top of the strings.  If the felt becomes too worn, replacement of the felt is necessary. 

Key Repair - Keys can break in many places, for many reasons.  Old wood or very rigorous playing can cause the key to break.  When this happens, the key can be reassembled like a puzzle and glued back together to provide a long-lasting solution.  Key tops may also chip or fall off over time.  The tops can be glued back on, or can be replaced by matching the shade of white of the new key top to the original color.

Voicing

While most of the potential sound of the piano is built into the structure and scaling of the piano, fine adjustments to the felt hammers that strike the string can often times drastically improve the quality of sound of the piano.  The goal in voicing these hammers is to make the sound from note to note as consistent as possible.  Depending on the frequency in which the piano is played, the hammers can become compressed producing a much more strident or hard sound.  At this point the hammers should be filed and can be made softer by using voicing needles. This is a delicate procedure and requires the technician to insert the needles in specific places along the top of the hammer to acquire the right sound.  Sometimes the hammers are too soft.  When this is the case, a hardening agent can be used to provide a more powerful sound.  Following this procedure, needles should be used to make the power consistent from note to note. When the hammers have been filed to the point where there is little felt left on the hammers, they should be replaced.  Ultimately the voicing procedure is dependent upon the sound the customer desires.