Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Tuning problem or maybe something else...

I have a new piano (5 months old) that will not hold a tune for more than a week. I bought a smaller model of the same brand and had it for a year. The sound just kept getting better and better and it held a tune remarkably well for a new piano. It was almost 6 months before you could hear a notable difference. The larger model is a nightmare. One problem after another but the inability to hold a tune is the most frustrating. When I say it goes out of tune I mean that some notes in the 4th, and 5th octaves become so shrill (for lack of a better word) that it sounds like a completely wrong note so it interupts any piece I play. This is like a week after another tuning.

I keep getting told that it will get better... the first one did but this one just keeps getting worse with each day. Same exact conditions for both models (73 deg f and 47% RH). Lots of other problems too like leaking dampers, noisy damper pedal, and a twangy sound on several notes. I think I have a bad piano. Could this be true?

Is the same technician doing the tunings?

Yes. But what year and make is it?

yes and it sounds nice for a week or so then it degrades. I would expect the notes to flatten in a new piano but in addition to that there are some notes that suddenly became so bright I would call them tinny and that was two weeks after the last tune. It has just been one issue after another like a leaky damper the second week after delivery... that took two weeks to fix, then a noisy sustain pedal that was addressed several times and the noise always came back. Finally, the whole lyre had to be taken into the shop. Now I have notes that "echo" and others that have a background buzzing to them... just horrible.

Brand new Hailun 178 purchased at the end of July. I had a new 161 for a year and it was marvelous! It just got better every day and was great from day one. It took several months for the tuning to get noticibly flatter. It was so good in fact, I decided to upgrade to the 178. That turned out to be a huge mistake.

The ambient conditions are identical for both pianos with no changes in location or environment. I know new pianos have to stretch and settle in but this is absurd. I now hardly ever play since I don't enjoy it anymore. I used to love the 161 and played a couple hours a day. Now I dread sitting down in front of the piano as I know something else bad will appear.

What sort of warranty, if any, is there on this piano?

You probably should get a good referral for another highly qualified technician to tune it and give you an overall evaluation (measure tuning pin torque, recommendations for optimum damper and pedal response, etc.).
If you have a real pin block problem I expect that you should get satisfaction (like replacing the instrument) if you work with your dealer (&/or regional or national Hailun reps). I'm afraid I don't know where you're located (next town over? Kazakistan?) so I can't make more specific recommendations.

I'm going to suggest the "something else".

The words you keep using are tonal descriptions which commonly describe tonal issues in the killer octave. Tinny, overly bright, strident.

Sometimes out of tune unisons make a unison sound this way if they are way out. However, if it is a killer octave issue, or hopefully a voicing issue, it will sound abrasive mostly always. It could sound a bit less strident when freshly tuned with really nice unisons, but it will be completely intolerant of the slightest movement in the unisons. Try having your tech look at is as a voicing issue.

Is your tech calling it "out of tune", or is that your description?

Also, from the tuning perspective, how about a picture of the 4th 5th octave tuning pin area and string segment between the pin and the capo or agraffes? If there is a brass counterbearing bar there, given the right circumstance, these front string segments can be very hard for the tuner to read when tuning. HE/she may be being boonswaggled by the front segment feedback he is getting, or rather not getting when tuning. This front segment condition combined with a tech's inability to read it correctly would cause the string to quickly "slip" out of tune, even though the pins are holding tension just fine.

Jim Ialeggio

15 years

I thought that would be a good idea and thanks for the suggestion. That will be my next step. I would rather not mention my location until I see how this plays out. It is just so different from the first piano something has to be wrong.

Jim,

I have to assume that the design of the 161 and the 178 is similar just 6" longer. There were no problems such as this with the 161 and much to the contrary it was magnificent for it's size and price range.

I'll work on getting you the pics. I really appreciate the time all of you have spent to respond to my questions and help me out.

I have the upmost respect for the tech, he is a RTP with many years of experience and knows Hailuns. He had the 161 singing like a bird but this is different. Too many problems I think. A week after his visit something new always occurs and always a different problem.

The change in the upper notes was very sudden, almost overnight. I could not see anything that was obviously different anywhere.

You have all been great and many thanks to all of you collectively. True craftsmen and experts always find it difficult to ignore a challenge.

The 161 may have been an older piano when you bought it, which would make it more stable.

The dealer should have access to all the technical help he needs via the importer/ distributor at no cost to you, assuming that your location in in the USA/Canada.

Insist through your dealership that these faults are dealt with. The dealer would be wise to report the problems to their distributor so that any possible manufacturing problems are known.

If it can't be dealt with locally, the distributer has access to nationally known technicians who travel or they can authorise exchange of the piano if necessary.

Nobody acts alone in this, nor should you. That's what a guarantee is about.

Can you get the old one back?

The 161 was brand new as well. It's 1st year was much more "normal" in that it took a few months for the gradual flattening of most notes and, once retuned, was good to go for several months. I couldn't wait to play each day as it just got better and better every day.

In the 5 months since I took possesion of the 178 I experienced a leaking damper within the first two weeks... two weeks later that got fixed, then a dead key, two weeks to fix that, then a noisy sustain pedal, that took a couple of months to finally fix, then an odd sound to E3 that took two weeks to fix buy is now back, and now, the "runaway" extreme brightness of several notes in the 5th octave. Also, an echo has developed in the 5th and 6th octaves.

You can see why I hesitate to sit on the bench as the other shoe is always dropping. Tuning stability, while not good, is but just one of the issues. I'm getting a real bad feeling about this piano.

I wish! The dealer had a buyer lined up before the actual trade up.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my dilema.

The dealership does address my concerns but the real problem is that while each problem is eventually dealt with and corrected, new ones keep appearing so it is a constant parade of varied problems that keep me from enjoying the piano. The tech who has serviced the piano is great as he can immediately identify the cause and then correct it but each time I have to live with the fault for a few weeks before he can schedule a visit. It is suggested to me that all these problems are normal and part of the break in process but that was not true with the 161 so I am not prone to buy into that therory. The whole thing is getting old and I'm only 5 months into ownership.

I guess the bottom line to my inquiries is to ask the highly trained and experienced technicians on this forum if they think all these problems are "normal" for a new piano because, at this point, I am not sure how to proceed. I guess the suggestion that I have another set of trained eyes take a look is the way to go and then take it from there.

This is not normal in my opinion.

As I suspected... thanks Mark. I have to contact the dealer again regarding the latest discrepancy so I guess it's time for a discussion as to the options available that will allow me to enjoy my new piano, either this one or an alternate.

Strikes me as an instrument that did not get prepped very well at the factory or followed up at the dealer. It does happen from time to time, even though it seems to me that Hailun is one of the better ones in the first tier category.
Did you play the instrument prior to purchase or was it an open crate delivery?