problem with action of modern Broadwood piano

[jrmptl]

I have a Broadwood upright piano which is about 15 years old. Over the past year the action has begun to deteriorate. There is an intermittent fault. A note does not sound and depressing the key feels like hitting concrete.
I have been told that many pianos of that age were built with inferior material which causes the action to stick and which becomes worse as the piano is played. Does anyone know if this is true?

[Barrie Heaton]

Pressing the key and it feeling like concrete it may be just a foreign object under the key. on the hole if it was wear and tear it would be on other notes as well

What as your tuners told you



Barrie

[jrmptl]

Thanks Barrie,
Several notes are affected, and I am increasingly thinking that the notes don't feel "right". The fault is intermittent. Tuner suspects inferior felt has been used. Do pianos have "bushes" which could be not right?

[Barrie Heaton]

Thanks Barrie,
Several notes are affected, and I am increasingly thinking that the notes don't feel "right". The fault is intermittent. Tuner suspects inferior felt has been used. Do pianos have "bushes" which could be not right?

They do have bushing but they tend to be cloth not felt - Have you tested the humidity if it is an intermittent problem it could be humidity getting into the bushing, that can be a problem with all makes of piano more so this year will all the rain.

Did the tuner look at the humidity

Barrie

[Colin Nicholson]

Intermittent faults such as a note being briefly being unplayable (and then playable the next minute) is sometimes caused by a seized or slow lever flange (at the rear of the mechanism) - or sometimes a slow jack. If the sustain pedal is used at the time of this note playing, this can make the note not play, then when the pedal is released, the note works again (ie helped by the damper). In these circumstances, some re-pinning is needed. High humidity is the main culprit, so I recommend you buy a hygrometer to test the humidity levels. Try playing the note repeatedly very quickly with & without the sustain pedal, and see if there is a difference.

The notes playing like 'concrete' ?? - are these the unplayable notes, or the ones that work and make a sound? If the latter - I suspect the hammers may need refacing, and/or toning. Perfectly normal for a piano to sound like this if not serviced regularly every 2-3 years. The 'hard hitting' effect is usually caused by excess damp getting into the hammer heads, then drying out and becoming brittle.

Hope that helps....