Johnson Piano Service

07/04/2026

Recently completed this custom action rebalancing for a 1987 Steinway B. The photos don’t show extensive modifications but the numbers came out beautifully in the end. This piano had both geometry and ratio problems that required changes in dimension and/or location to whippens, backchecks and capstans. Strike weight and front weight are smoothly balanced with mid-range numbers of 49 DW and 27-28 UW. It’s got Ronsen 14lb hammers with weickert felt which were fully voiced and have a full, round tone. Owner is very pleased.

02/26/2025

This is the most recent restoration project completed in my shop. No new parts, but interesting for other reasons. The piano is an Estonia about 30 years old and I completely redesigned the balance weight. It had whippen assist springs that were so heavy the factory also put 2 large leads in the back half of the key to balance hammers that were already off-the-chart heavy. I removed between 1 and 2 grams off each hammer lowering strike weight to the low medium range, removed all the assist springs, repinned everything, and rebalanced with nominal leads in my traditional manner. The end result is a completely different instrument. Factory parts are Renner with Able hammers. I would have preferred new Ronsen hammers, but that wasn’t in the budget and it worked out fine. I also service a brand new Estonia and noticed the factory has since stopped using those assist springs, which I believe is noteworthy.

03/18/2024

Last action job completed in February. This was an old Chickering with very bad action ratio, lots of friction and wide, heavy hammers originally done by another local shop. Just starting another action re-do this week. This will be a Petrof with factory Renner parts and hammers. Ratio is good there but it has a significant geometry problem and hammers so heavy, in the treble they off the chart!

07/10/2023

Wow….

A beast of a piano, twice the length of a concert hall Steinway – and just listen to its incredible, deep sound.