Steinway & Sons is one of the leading piano brands worldwide. As a prominent piano company, it is known a manufacturer of premium pianos which renowned musicians and composers prefer. Famous artists like Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Sergei Rachmaninoff even perform exclusively on Steinway pianos. If your family owns a Steinway piano, taking good care of one of the finest pieces of musical instrument should be top priority.
Basic Piano Care Tips
According to experts, hot dry air can damage the mechanisms and components of your piano. To avoid this, place your piano away from heat ducts, radiators, or windows. If the piano has a wood grain outside case, keep it from the window to avoid discoloration. Clean the wood finish with a soft cloth slightly dampened with furniture polish. Keep the interior regularly dusted and free from any toys, coins, and other foreign objects. Try playing it simply to inspect if the strings, dampers, and sound board are in good condition.
Piano Tuning
Pianos require tuning after months or years of regular use. Piano technicians make minute adjustments to the piano strings’ tensions to properly align the intervals between their tones. Fine piano tuning requires a comprehensive interaction among notes, requiring slightly different pitches for various kinds of pianos. Independent piano technicians, rebuilders, and hobbyists need professional training and certification to tune upright or grand pianos. You can ask relatives or friends to refer trusted piano technicians to you.
Rebuilding and Restoration
Though pianos age gradually, you need to take it to a professional rebuilder to check its condition. By the time a piano reaches the thirty year mark, its hammers are harder to be voiced properly. Steinway piano restoration experts deal with the three main parts of a grand piano when reconditioning, rebuilding, or remanufacturing-the case, the action, and the cabinet. Rebuilding and restoration services include restringing, soundboard shimming or replacement, bridge recapping, as well as replacement for hammers, hammer shanks, and pinblocks.
Regulation
The Steinway grand piano action is the mechanical component that consists of around 10,000 parts. This action is made of keys and a system of moving parts that translates the movement of the keys into movement of hammers, which in turn strike the strings and produce sounds. As the action wears, other components also deteriorate, reducing the quality of your piano’s sound. You can contact professionals that regulate the piano’s components to fix this problem.
Climate Control Systems
Since Steinway pianos are made of wood, they are vulnerable to the humidity or atmosphere around them. Advanced climate control systems regulate internal humidity levels, maintaining the ideal relative humidity of forty to fifty percent despite external conditions.