Has anyone had their piano "done up" recently? I changed my piano tuner this year (the old one retired) and the new tuner showed me how deeply the hammer felts were cut, and recommended that I have them refaced. This sounded like a good idea, as it had been getting difficult to play fast repeated notes on some of the keys, and he showed me that this was because the felt was being held by the strings before the hammer could return.

OK, so yesterday two chaps came and did the work, which included rebalancing the hammers. The piano is so much easier to play now - I can play very quietly without the soft pedal, and the repeated notes are fine. The trouble is that the tone is so much brighter than before. I've had the piano for 25 years, and the thing that first attracted me to it was the lovely mellow tone. Problem is, I know that for the last few years it hasn't been sounding as good as it used to, and perhaps I was expecting miracles from the repair.

Does anyone know whether the tone will get less bright as the new felts are played on? I did ask the men about the tone yesterday, and they said they could make it more mellow, but then it wouldn't be quite as responsive. Not sure what to do now! Should I play on it for a few weeks and then review things? I'd welcome any advice.

Well it seems to me they have done a good job. I guess it will settle down a bit, but having new felts will always end up as a compromise between the action and the sound. But do you really not want a bright tone, many players would prefer it.

I'd keep playing it in, if I were you - and play in as much of the range as you can piano and forte, to bed everything in. "Mellow" can actually mean muffled-sounding, which isn't that desirable, and as you have found out, can make the action difficult to get moving. If it hasn't eased after about four to six months, you could then get them to look at it again, and they'll do some clever things with a little spiky gizmo to adjust the sound.

Er . . . I'm no expert on this but I think the clever thing with the spiky Gizmo is much easier when the felts are new. If you want it to sound mellower get them to come back and do it now: Again, I could be wrong so check with your technical wizards but I believe that as newly felted hammers get used and "bedded in" the sound is likely to get brighter, not mellower.

Oh Dear, now I'm even more unsure! My son, who got a merit at grade 8 in the summer, isn't too happy with the tone either, but of course you do get used to the way your piano is.

Maybe I had better ring the men on Monday and see what they say as to whether the tone will get brighter or mellower with time. I was going to give it a week or two for us to get used to the changes a bit first.

Anyway, thanks for replying - it's good to be able to ask others what they think.