Elevating Classics: Transforming Piano Performance through Mechanical Refinement

At Sykes & Sons, we are dedicated to bringing out the very best in every piano that passes through our workshop. Each instrument has its own distinct voice and potential, yet this is not always fully realised, even in pianos of fine craftsmanship. One of our key specialities lies in the refinement of action and keyboard geometry, areas that have a profound influence on how a piano feels under the fingers.

Our technicians are deeply committed to achieving the highest possible level of responsiveness and control. In some cases, this involves enhancing the original design itself, making subtle but transformative adjustments to the piano’s internal geometry to unlock a depth of expressive capability that was always waiting to be revealed.

Through the careful revision of mechanical geometry, we routinely transform underwhelming actions into instruments that feel beautifully balanced, expressive, and responsive. This process goes far beyond routine regulation. It is a methodical refinement that brings precision to every moving part, allowing the pianist to experience a greater sense of control and connection.

In this article, we explore some of these adjustments, how they are achieved, and the remarkable difference they can make to a piano’s playability and overall performance.

---

When Trust Is Lost and Found Again

Not long ago, a family came to us feeling disheartened by their piano. Once cherished, it had become increasingly heavy and unresponsive, resisting every attempt at nuanced expression. No matter how carefully they played, the instrument seemed to fight against them, dulling the connection between their hands and the music they loved. They had already invested considerable time and money into having it serviced by various technicians, yet each attempt left them more discouraged.

Beneath the surface lay small but critical irregularities in the piano’s internal geometry, quietly undermining its responsiveness. We explained how a full mechanical revision could bring the piano back to life, restoring its clarity, balance, and subtlety of touch.

To show them what was possible, we invited the family to our workshop. There, an identical piano of the same age and origin stood ready for viewing after undergoing our full refinement process. As soon as they played it, the difference was unmistakable.

After so many disappointments, their confidence in the piano they had at home had understandably faded. We assured them that we could achieve the same transformation in their own instrument, and arrangements were made to have the piano brought to us.

Back in the workshop, we began the slow and deliberate process of uncovering the beauty that had been waiting inside it all along.

---

The Art of Precision

At Sykes & Sons Pianos, every project begins with an individual assessment, where we study the instrument closely and listen to what it has to say. Some pianos arrive worn and tired. Others are beautifully preserved but held back by small design oversights that quietly limit their true potential.

Drawing on many years of experience with a wide variety of piano brands and vintages, we use model-specific methods to refine and optimise the internal geometry of the keyboard and action when necessary. When carried out with care, this process can transform an instrument that feels capable but restrained into one that responds with elegance, balance, and complete freedom of expression.

One model we encounter often has a subtle but significant flaw in its keyboard geometry. The sharp keys sit just a little higher than they should above the naturals, creating the feeling of extra resistance when playing them.

This same irregularity also disrupts the escapement cycle inside the action, leaving the touch uneven, sluggish, and sometimes unpredictable.

Our technicians approach this kind of work with patience and precision. Every part of the mechanism is studied and measured in detail. Key length, hammer weight, hammer shank length, key travel, key height, depth of touch, and after-touch are all carefully recorded, and the position of the action is checked to ensure it sits exactly where it should. Even the smallest variation can change the way the piano feels beneath the fingers.

When setting the action in an upright piano, we are balancing several elements that together determine how the instrument will sound and respond. The first is the optimal hammer strike point, which must be perfectly calculated so that each note speaks clearly and sings with a natural tone.

If the hammers strike too high or too low, the sound can lose its colour and sustain. Next, we ensure that the dampers rest perfectly against the strings. A well-seated damper allows the pianist to release notes cleanly and shape phrases with absolute control. Once these two relationships are in harmony, we can move on to the keyboard itself.

The next stage is to establish the correct key height through adjustment of the balance rail. This is one of the most delicate parts of the process. Even the slightest deviation can affect the balance and feel of the entire keyboard. Each measurement is made with patience, guided by both technical data and the technician’s experience of how the piano should feel to play. The position of the balance rail brings the overall key height into a predetermined tolerance, which is then finely finished note by note with the addition of individual washers beneath the fulcrum of each key. When the resting height is confirmed, the keys are removed once again, and we begin work on the front touch rail.

For this particular design defect, the original front touch pins are removed, and their guide holes deepened with care on a pillar drill. The front touch rail, the wooden section that holds these pins, is then reprocessed. Around four millimetres of material are removed beneath the sharp keys using a high-powered router on a customised sled, with the final rebate completed on the table saw. Once this is done, the pins are polished and reinserted, and the keyframe is returned to the keybed for the next stage of calibration.

Some workshops try to solve this issue by thinning the felt washers underneath the sharp keys, raising the height of the natural keys, and then making up the difference with thick paper punchings underneath each white key.

This can seem effective at first, but it quickly loses accuracy as the materials settle and the seasons change, and it almost always causes issues somewhere else along the regulation chain. Our approach is different. By rebuilding the geometry itself rather than trying to work around a flawed foundation, we create lasting stability that remains consistent over time and allows for complete refinement. It is time-consuming work that demands both patience and passion, but it is also deeply rewarding.

With a completely clean slate to build on, the technicians can delicately regulate the action with unhindered precision. This is the point where the piano begins to come back to life, ready to sing once more beneath the hands of its next player.

When the piano was completed, our customers returned to the workshop to view the instrument they had left in our care. When they sat down to play to finished article, they instantly remarked on how the keys flowed effortlessly, how the tone bloomed freely, and how, for the first time in years, they felt the piano respond with genuine warmth and life.

What had once felt heavy and uncooperative now felt light, graceful, and deeply expressive. Their music said everything that their words could not. In that moment, their faith in the piano and in the music they loved was restored.