While tuning ensures your piano hits the right pitch, Regulation and Voicing determine how the piano feels under your fingers and how it sounds to your ears. If you find it difficult to play softly, or if the piano sounds harsh and bright, these are the services you need.
The action of a piano is like a car engine; it transfers the power of your finger striking the key into the hammer hitting the string. Over time, the felt compacts and the geometry of these moving parts drifts out of alignment. As a result, the piano feels heavy, sluggish, or uneven.
Regulation is the process of finely recalibrating these parts. By adjusting the exact millimeter the hammer releases (let-off) and the depth the key travels (key dip), among other factors; I can restore the action to its optimum feel.
Piano hammers are made of tightly compressed felt. After years of striking metal strings, the felt develops hard grooves, causing the tone to become aggressive, overly bright, or tinny.
Voicing (sometimes called toning) is the art of shaping the sound. By carefully filing away the hard grooves and using special needles to introduce elasticity back into the felt, we can transform a harsh, banging piano into an instrument that sings with warmth, colour, and a beautiful dynamic range.
