Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Yamaha Spinet made in Japan keys sticking

We're having the opposite problem with our piano than is usual. When we were given this piano early last fall it worked great, but then when it got cold and we turned on the heat suddenly keys were sticking, or plain not working. Lots of random keys at random intervals; it wasn't like this was an issue with just one or two specific keys. Tried a lot of solutions but nothing worked. Now that it's gotten warm again and the heat is off suddenly everything is working great again. I'm stumped, because usually the humidity is what adversely affects a piano. Any thoughts on what the issue might be?

Certain parts can go either way big/small. Without paying for expensive regulation, just get a humidifier for the heated months.

I’ve encountered trouble with these Yamaha spinets in the field several times. Tightening all the action screws resolved all the regulation symptoms.

Also I’ve encountered squeaks coming from the spoons rubbing on the felt. Took me a while to realize it.

Anybody have a source/solution for the rubber grommets these pianos have. I needed to pull the action on one the other day, but couldn't because the grommets where as hard as rock.

Measure them, and try an electronics supplier.

We've actually had the dehumidifier on this whole time thinking that would help.

I did tighten all the screws several months ago, but it didn't solve the sticking.

Are the hammer flange spring cords broken?

Quite a few are and they're all getting near their last legs from what I can tell. Replacing them would take hours. Think that could be the problem? There was no noticable correlation that I could see between which were broken and which keys were sticking.

Specifically, what do you mean by "keys sticking". That term can mean different things to different people. Do the keys stay stuck in the down position when you press them? Is the problem occurring mainly when using the sustain pedal? Does the key seem to go up and down OK, but you only get a sound the first time time you press the key?

Broken hammer flange cords can cause some weird, inconsistent things to happen with the keys and hammers.

Sorry for not being more specific. Generally the keys would work the first few times they're played, but would be slow to recover (can't play the same note in rapid succession). After playing the piano for maybe ten minutes some of the most used keys will no longer work at all. They don't get stuck in the down position, the hammers just aren't striking when the key is hit.

Are the jacks slow to reset, or just the hammers?

Well, it's not doing it anymore so I'm unable to figure out what might be the issue. I just wish I knew so I could keep it from doing this every winter. Maybe a humidifier is the simplest solution. I feel like there's some issue with friction/heat build up in addition to the dryness because the keys always became less responsive the more they were played and would be fairly decent again after leaving the piano alone for a few hours.