Question for musically inclined. Am I crazy?

[Anonymous]

Piano questions:

Since I got my Yamaha piano tuned, I feel like the lower keys (left hand side) have been sort of buzzy in sound. And louder and harder to play more quietly. Is this in my head? or what would cause that? Can a new tuning fix this?

Is it possible to ask a piano technician to to make the keys easier to press / more reactive to touch? What is that called? Can this typically be done on an upright piano?


I'm looking into a new piano tech now and would like to gather some info and be able to have the language to accurately communicate what I'm experiencing. I also want to have the right expectations for what a piano tech is able to do. Would love any advice!

[Anonymous]

To clarify: these are two separate issues. The left hand keys being buzzy and loud. And second, wanting all the keys to require less force.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked inside? I've always found Yamahas way too ringy and hard to play quietly, so maybe the tuner just reset to this original sound? The buzz is not normal - something wasn't done right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked inside? I've always found Yamahas way too ringy and hard to play quietly, so maybe the tuner just reset to this original sound? The buzz is not normal - something wasn't done right.

I lifted the lid and looked around but tbh don't really know what I'm looking at. I basically looked to see if there might be debris or something!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked inside? I've always found Yamahas way too ringy and hard to play quietly, so maybe the tuner just reset to this original sound? The buzz is not normal - something wasn't done right.

I don't know if it's actually buzzing. It just sounds kind of harsh/buzzy. There isn't a rattle or buzz... I just mean the coloring if that makes sense?

[Anonymous]

Something might have fallen into the strings (a coin?) causing the buzzing. Do you have anything sitting on top of the piano on the left hand side? Try moving it and see if that helps (this happens to my piano sometimes). For the loudness issue, you can ask a technician to regulate the action and/or reshape the felt on the hammers to make the tone less bright/loud. But the reshaping can be very expensive, and the change may not be noticeable enough to be worth it. I had it done on my 30-year-old Yamaha grand piano, and the difference was subtle. My piano has always had a bright tone (which I generally like), and over the years it has gotten even brighter. No amount of reshaping is going to make it mellow, but there is a slight improvement — not sure it was worth the money though.

[Anonymous]

Strings can be tight after they are first changed.

[Anonymous]

Yamahas have a “brighter” voice than something like a Steinway, so maybe that’s what you’re hearing as a buzz in the lower range. A PT can voice the felt pads that strike the strings.

[Anonymous]

I don't think there's anything obvious on it that shouldn't be. I noticed the buzzy/brassier tone in the lower octaves after the tuning. I think it's gotten maybe a bit better but I still feel that the left side is jazzier/brassier/louder than before the tuning. The piano has also since been moved to another house, so it's unlikely to be something like debris resting on it. Could the string be somehow, I don't know... adjust to be looser than before the tuning?

Thanks for the poster who mentioned "action," I think that vocabulary will help me. I don't want to do anything drastic or very expensive. But I would like to fix that left side. And if possible, would like to keys to have a lighter touch.

[Anonymous]

I’d start with regulating the action (adjusting the distance between the strings and the hammers), which is a prerequisite for the further step of regulating the voicing (reshaping and softening the felt on the hammers). If the action regulation fixes the problem you won’t have to spend the extra money on the voicing regulation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think there's anything obvious on it that shouldn't be. I noticed the buzzy/brassier tone in the lower octaves after the tuning. I think it's gotten maybe a bit better but I still feel that the left side is jazzier/brassier/louder than before the tuning. The piano has also since been moved to another house, so it's unlikely to be something like debris resting on it. Could the string be somehow, I don't know... adjust to be looser than before the tuning?

Thanks for the poster who mentioned "action," I think that vocabulary will help me. I don't want to do anything drastic or very expensive. But I would like to fix that left side. And if possible, would like to keys to have a lighter touch.

If you moved it then you might need it retuned.

[Anonymous]

Make sure the relative humidity is 40-50%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure the relative humidity is 40-50%

Humidity is within range.

Time line was

we moved

months later had it tuned, resulting in the brassiness/buzzing

Moved again months later

Currently looking for a new tuner (few months after moving)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d start with regulating the action (adjusting the distance between the strings and the hammers), which is a prerequisite for the further step of regulating the voicing (reshaping and softening the felt on the hammers). If the action regulation fixes the problem you won’t have to spend the extra money on the voicing regulation.

Thanks, this gives me more to go on.