Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum I need some help please !!!!!!!!!

Hi there,


I would like to introduce my self.

My name is Olly and i've been playing the piano for 10 years. I have owned a lot of acoustic pianos and i currently own a Yamaha U1. I recently sold my beloved Steinway Modle K 2009 because i had to fund other things. I then bought a beautiful Yamaha U1 fully restored from 1975.

This forum looks like a fantastic place and i'm pleasured to be a part of it.


Now i need a little help. 2 actions on my yamaha U1 have become wobbly. It is very difficult to describe. when i play the key the hammer moves left and right colliding with the hammers next to it. the wobbly hammers also hit wrong keys giving an awful sound some times.

I can provide you all a video if that would help explain it.



Thanks for your help,




Olly

Screws may be loose and pins may have moved. Your tuner or a technician should be able to fix the problems easily enough.

Will it involve taking out the entire action ? Surely that will cost a fortune ?

No just a few minutes. When is your next tuning due?

I had it tuned to concert pitch 2 months ago.

Well, I'd suggest you talk to your tuner and decide what to do. Alternatively, if you bought the piano recently from a dealer you could go back and ask them to fix it.

Hi Olly,

I agree with Ian; call the dealer you purchased the U1 from and ask if they will come out and fix the wabbly hammers. It does sound like a loose whippen screw or possibly a loose flange pin. The action will likely need to be removed to repair it.

Good luck and keep us informed of the outcome.

Rick

If the piano was built in 1975 there is another possibility. There is a spring that allows the hammer to return quickly and in the min 1970's this spring was held in place by a string, which resembles dental floss.

If that string snaps it would give you a wobbly hammer.

Call your dealer.

Really? Wobbling side-to-side, and striking the wrong note/string, as the OP has described?

You might get even more great/relevant answers like these if you label your subject more appropriately and not use nine exclamation points...

Hi guys,


i spoke to Will Venables and he told me this:

The hammer flange may need re centring due to the pin coming through or breaking, or the butt plate screw tightening.

I sent him videos of me showing and explaining the issue and he helped me a lot. He shown me step by step how to access the flange screw and i undone it and looked at the action. The hammer part is coming off at the pivot point.

I would recommend them for their very helpful service.


I will call my technician and get him to fix it.



Thanks,



Olly

Totally fixable. It's great to learn a little about what goes on "under the hood" of your piano.

It is probably a loose plate holding the center pin on the hammer butt flange. Get it fixed quickly and it is very minor. If you wait, the flange bushing could be damaged, and the repair is more difficult.

Oh i'm worried now


On another note, is there any way that the tone of my piano can be brought down? i play a lot of Chopin, Bach, Litz and Rachmanioff. These pieces require quite a mellow tone. I know that the the U1 is renowned to have a "bright" tone but i my opinion its too bright for me. Will it cost a bomb to have the piano voiced ?


Thanks,



Olly

General voicing is neither difficult nor expensive service, it just takes some time. However, there is a limit to the instrument's design + age of hammers/strings. Shoot for medium voicing rather than overly mellow.