Bruce Stevens, the owner of Bruce Stevens Piano Tuning & Restoration, has been a registered piano technician for over forty years. He works out of his piano shop in Bellflower, California and services the West Los Angeles area to South Bay, up into Orange County. In this video, Bruce shares his experience working with Wessell, Nickel, & Gross parts and their versatility in his various rebuilds, his customers’ reaction to using our composite actions, and the connection that WNG has with the rebuilding community.
“From the parts to the tools, WNG seems like they’re thinking ahead, thinking about what the technician needs, thinking what might make their life easier…they have that kind of connection with our community.”
When beginning an installation, rebuild, or remodel, piano technicians and rebuilders know that selecting the right parts is essential. Often, there are challenges and problems on the manufacturer level—sometimes this means hammers are glued in the wrong place, or that the top action is positioned incorrectly, which can lead to inconsistency in the feel and weight of the keys. As Bruce explains, when it comes to actions, the geometry of the heel and knuckle placement play a large part in determining the feel and dynamic weight of the keys. Wessell, Nickel, & Gross offers a wide variety of options that are suitable for almost every piano project and type. With 9 heel sizes, 14 heel locations, 4 knuckle sizes, and 9 knuckle locations, WNG parts have the most customization in the industry, giving the technicians the freedom to keep the piano’s original specification or even make it better.
I’m able to select the right parts, and I emphasize that because it’s not just a whippen assembly—it’s the heel height, it’s the selection of the right shank and knuckle, and everything I need, WNG offers.
As piano technicians ourselves, we designed our parts and tools to be as easy to use and accessible as possible to technicians like Bruce Stevens, and the rebuilding community as a whole. Much of the inspiration and creativity in creating our products came from our own experiences and the need for quality piano actions with an emphasis on flexibility, customizable action geometry, and longevity.