piano hammer on a slightly..."special" piano (CP70)

hi all,

i've been working on restoring my Yamaha CP70 electric baby grand. so far most of it has consisted of cleaning and felt before a tuning/action adjustment but i noticed the top hammer is broken in a peculiar place:



my question to you is: is there a relatively easy fix for this or should I call in the major leagues?

Thanks!

You did not notice a broken flange prior to dismounting ?

Those are standard Yamaha grand flange, if memory serves, no problem to find a new one, but you may need a piano technician to instal also a new center pin.

Hope that helps you .


P.S , I did not read your post correctly, you are "restoring" your CP 70 !

You will have to order a new flange. They are pretty standard. But if you don't have repinning tools, you won't be able to install it. So yes, call a tech.

All the best!

got it, thanks! having trouble locating a piano supply place in Los Angeles that can verify the right size flange...one shop has yamaha grand piano flanges but thinks they probably won't work on mine...

The action is similar as a grand yamaha may be the older series G with similar flanges as Renner standard flanges.
Take your part to a workshop and get a new or a second one mounted by the tch if you have no budget
But you cannot "restore " your piano, you could change the "rubbers" (actually polyurethane) but need yo know how to regulate a grand action ,and have tools and furnitures.
That if you want to benefit ofa well functionning instrument. Service manual is availeable, mostly for the mikes and the electronic plus a few dimensions.

Easy to make mistakes and have a misfunctionning instrument.

Excellent electrical piano but harder to work than a Fender

thank you for the response. I'm definitely going to have a tech come out and do the tuning/tweaking on things, I was trying my best to minimize cost by cleaning up the inside and sorting out what might be needed. I originally booked a piano tech familiar with CP70s/80s for a tuning before I realized it was going to need more than just a couple key heights adjusted.

you can see the balance rail felt rings are completely gone, all that was left was some red fuzz here and there

Yeah - every 40 years or so a piano can benefit from a bit of work... Especially a stage piano - who knows the abuse it has endured over the decades.

Make sure to tell the tech in advance that it is a CP 70. If they don't know what that is, find somebody else. Aural tuning seems to be the only way to tune those things, so make sure the tech doesn't rely on a hearing device. (I mean tuning device)

Oooo. Someone with one of those electronic hearing devices is gonna' put a virtual electronic hex on you for that slip, Jurgen!

Too late: I've been hexed already - hence the erratic behavior. You and I could start a self help group David. I nominate Zeno as VP of Grammar and Language.

Truth be told though - Tuning a CP 70 calls for quite extreme compromises and human judgement. Those hearing aids are not good in either department.

Maybe the new Blackberry, announced today, will have a tuning app for CP 70s. Just maybe.....

the tech knows and is familiar with CP70s. how many parts does a pro tech bring with them to fix issues like these?

If you send him pics and describe the situation clearly he will propose to take the piano in its workshop, or if he is really experimented and don't care to work outside, he can have the most necessary parts with him (particularly the balance punching).

Generally when the moth have finished with the balance punchings the climb in the keys (with ropes and all mountain equipment) and eat the key bushing cloths.

The hammers are very robust on those pianos, but at some point they have to be replaced (not the shank, but the covering of the head). not necessary to have the piano play but the tone will be nicer. the leathers can be needled also probably, but this is less efficient.

How are the keys ? very important part, if too much play the action cannot be "really" regulated.

when i first picked up the piano the action wasn't too bad, actually felt a tad stiff and keys didn't go down as far as I thought they would. I guess previously the piano had been stored on its side and with all the balance rail felt/dust/clumps the keys were all uneven. with all of that gone now hopefully the tech can get it back to its original action.