Does your piano sound bright and tinny? Here’s why. Each time a key is played, your piano’s strings are struck with a hammer composed of highly compressed wool felt. With time and usage the hammers become harder and develop grooves causing the tone to change – often to one that is brighter, and sometimes harsh or tinny. This is the most likely cause of an excessively bright and tinny sounding piano.
New pianos sometimes come from the factory with an overly bright, less than pleasing tone. This is more common in Asian brand pianos whose hammers are often made with harder, highly compressed felt.
The tone or “Voice” of a piano can be modified through a process called voicing. The process of voicing a piano primarily involves changing (improving) the interaction of the felt hammers and the pianos strings. The firmness, shape, and flight characteristics of the piano’s hammer all influence the way it strikes the strings, and therefore, affect the tone of the piano.
It’s important when choosing to buy a piano to consider its tonal qualities. Some people prefer a bright, clear tone, while others like a warmer, more mellow sound. High quality pianos can often exhibit both warm and bright tone depending upon how aggressively the keys are struck.
If the tone of your piano is not exactly as you prefer, talk to your technician about voicing it more to your liking. The tone of most pianos can be improved considerably through voicing.
To learn more about your piano’s tone, visit my page all about piano voicing.