Regulation
What is regulation?
Regulation is the adjustment of the working parts between the keys and hammers to have optimal efficiency. There are many benefits to regulation. Notes may be repeated faster, heavy touch may be lightened, pianisimo may be played with less effort, and touch across the piano will be more even. If a single key is sticking, that single note may need to be regulated at the price of a small repair. If a piano is not responding to a pianist evenly across many keys, the piano may be a candidate for a full regulation.
Misaligned parts
Piano parts are lined with cloth, felt, and leather to cusion them where they interact with other parts. Such materials get indentations over years of use, and create a gap where there once was was padding. The wood that parts are made of may warp between humid and dry spells. Such changes result in parts being misaligned, and thus a need for regulation.
Regulation & Piano Age
0-30 Years Old
Newer pianos are generally regulated to play well, but not always optimally before being sold. This is because of time constraints and cost. In many cases, only the highest quality pianos are given a concert regulation as an add on to purchase. This means that new pianos can often be regulated to perform even better.
30-50 Years Old
Parts will have traveled out of alignment over the years. For this reason, they will benefit from regulation unless they have already recently had a regulation performed. Before regulating a piano of this age, parts will be inspected for repairs or they may not be able to be adjusted properly.
50+ Years Old
If unused and in a good location, pianos of this age can have parts that are still in tact and able to be regulated. Old pianos, however have many different histories and parts are not always in ideal shape. Before regulating an old piano, the parts must be inspected to make sure they are in good enough condition.
Full Regulation
Full regulation is when an entire piano receives regulation. Because pianos can vary greatly in their needs, regulation cost can range from a few hundred dollars in a nice upright, to roughly $1,300 in a 40 year old grand piano, to a couple thousand in an 80+ year old grand piano with parts that are still in relatively good shape. Inspection is often included in the cost of a complete regulation and an evaluation is also given to determine if a piano would be worth regulation in the first place.
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