Services

We offer a full line of professional services for the piano, from a standard tuning to action regulation to a complete restoration, as well as other services such as humidity control system installations and soundboard cleaning. We also can provide benches and other accessories. For a more complete description of our services see below.

Tuning

Your piano is an investment in your future. It can bring you and your family a lifetime of music, adding immeasurable joy and beauty to your home. Because it also is such a large investment, it should be maintained with the utmost care. Regular servicing by a qualified tuner-technicians will preserve your instrument and help you avoid costly repair in the future.

Because your piano contains materials such as wood and felt, it is subject to change with climatic conditions. Extreme swings from hot to cold or dry to wet cause its materials to swell and contract, affecting not only tuning, but tone, and action response as well. You can reduce the severity of these effects by placing your piano near a wall away from windows or doors which are opened frequently. Avoid heating and air conditioning vents, fireplaces and areas which receive direct sunlight.

Your piano will perform best under consistent conditions neither too wet or dry, optimally at a temperature of 68 degrees F and 42 percent relative humidity. While pianos generally fall into vertical and grand model categories, each manufacturer selects its own materials and utilizes its own unique scale and furniture designs. Every piano requires a different level of maintenance, depending upon the quality of materials used, the design and level of craftsmanship. Manufacturers can provide general advice on tuning frequency but your technician can give specific recommendations based upon your usage and locale. Two times a year is generally considered to be the absolute minimum for proper piano care.

Regulating

Regulating is the adjustment of the mechanical aspects of the piano to compensate for the effects of wear, the compacting and settling of cloth, felt, and buckskin, as well as dimensional changes in wood and wool parts due to changes in humidity.

The three systems involved in regulation are the action, trapwork and damper system. The action is the mechanical part of the piano that transfers the motion of the fingers on the keys to the hammers that strike the strings. It is comprised of over 9,000 parts which require adjustment to critical tolerances to be able to respond to a pianist's every command. The trapwork is the assemblage of levers, dowels and springs that connects the pedals to the action affecting sustain and dynamics. The damper system is the mechanical part of the piano that stops the vibration of the string when you release the key and is controlled by the key and pedal systems.

While tuning corrects the pitch of your piano, it is only one component of a complete maintenance program. Regulation attends to the touch and uniform responsiveness of your action, all vital to making each performance pleasurable. In addition, regulation ensures that your instrument is capable of producing a wide dynamic range -- a critical factor, particularly in pianissimo passages.

Music is one of the most complex vehicles for expression. Its beauty is reliant upon personal dynamics and tempi. These changes require extremely fine adjustments to respond to the pianist's nuances and subtle shadings. A smooth, even response throughout the entire range of the keyboard and an extremely quick action capable of playing rapid passages and repeated notes evenly is essential. Outstanding response is essential for a pianist to create an outstanding performance.

Only you and your technician together should decide how frequently your piano needs regulating. Several factors can contribute to this. The intensity and number of hours your instrument is played, and climatic conditions are all determinants. A piano kept in relatively consistent conditions which are neither too wet nor dry, optimally at a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit and 42 percent relative humidity, will require less adjustment.

The quality of the instrument itself also can affect frequency of regulation. Some manufacturers decrease costs by not going over the regulation and voicing processes in the factory as much as needed. Reputable retailers sometimes do the necessary regulation themselves prior to selling the pianos, but others do not. Also, performance instruments may require some regulation before each use, due to the higher demands placed on them.

Rebuilding

A piano not only serves the art of music, it is a work of art itself. A wonderfully complex machine, it has thousands of moving parts, a framework and soundboard supporting tremendous string tension, and beautifully finished cabinetry.

Although remarkably durable, pianos are subject to deterioration with time and use. Felt wears, strings break, wooden structures weaken and crack, and the exterior finish loses its beauty. Regular service and periodic action regulation can compensate for minor wear, but heavy or extended use -- especially when combined with wide seasonal humidity swings -- can eventually cause severe deterioration.

Today, many high-quality older pianos exist in various stages of wear. Because it happens so gradually, this wear often goes unnoticed, leaving many pianos operating far below their potential. In extreme cases, some older pianos are simply left unplayed because of their poor condition.

Rebuilding involves complete disassembly, inspection, and repair as necessary, including replacement of ALL worn, damaged, or deteriorated parts. This piano is then reassembled, tested, and adjusted to the same or similar tolerances as new. Complete rebuilding includes the entire pianos structure -- including soundboard, bridges, pinblock, and strings -- as well as the action, keyboard, and case refinishing. Partial rebuilding includes only one or two of these areas, for example rebuilding of the action and structure, but not case refinishing.

Rebuilding restores the piano to original condition or better. Such comprehensive work is usually most practical for high-quality instruments here maximum performance and longevity are required.

Reconditioning is the process of putting a piano back in good condition by cleaning, repairing, and adjusting for best performance with parts replacement only where necessary. This is most appropriate for a piano with only moderate wear or those of medium value with average performance requirements.

Reconditioning does not involve replacing major components such as the soundboard, bridges, pinblock, and most action parts. This means the performance and life-span of an older piano will not be restored to new. Instead, reconditioning is designed to improve a piano's performance, keeping in mind both costs and benefits.

Voicing

Voicing is the adjustment of a piano's tone or quality of sound. Tone can be changed without affecting the pitch. For example, turning the bass or treble knobs on your stereo changes the tone but does not alter the notes the musician recorded. A skilled piano technician can voice a piano to change its tonal personality from mellow to bright or robust to delicate. The degree of change possible depends upon the piano's design and condition.

Tone varies, even among pianos of the same make and model. No matter what its size or cost, any good piano should provide a wide range of tone, from soft and sweet to loud and bright. The tone should be even from the lowest to the highest notes. Most of all, it should sound musical.

What does the perfect piano tone sound like? There is no single answer, because everyone's taste varies. Also, certain tonal characteristics are more suited to specific styles of music. A bright, lively tone might be best for jazz, whereas you might prefer a rich and dark sound for Beethoven's music. There are many different sizes and models of piano available in the market place; you chose your piano because it sounded good to you.

A very worn hammer that should be replaced. This hammer will produce a harsh tone.	A new hammer--notice the extra felt on top. This hammer will produce optimal tone quality.

But a piano's tone changes with use. As the hammers wear and compact, the tone often becomes too bright and harsh, robbing the pianist of the ability to produce a sweet sound. As parts wear, the regulation (adjustment of the mechanical parts that transmit motion from the fingers to the hammers) becomes uneven, and the pianist loses control over volume and tone. This is most noticeable in quiet playing. A delicate pianissimo passage becomes very difficult or impossible to play, and some keys may not sound at all if played very lightly. Aging of the piano's strings and structure also can diminish its tone.

Appraisals

There are many deciding factors in evaluating a piano's worth. One of the first things to do is to ascertain its age. Knowing the name and the serial number (usually found inside stamped on the iron plate near the tuning pins), one can look to a reference such as Pierce's Piano Atlas and find the year the piano was built. However, age is not the most important factor in an appraisal. The reputation of the maker, the overall condition of the piano, the integrity of its structural parts, most notably soundboard, pinblock and bridges, as well as the appearance of the case all figure into the assessment of a piano's worth. A qualified piano technician (rather than a furniture or antiques appraiser) making a thorough, on-site inspection of the piano will be best able to make such an evaluation.

If you find yourself in need of another instrument, be sure to consider all options, both new and used. Fine used instruments become available for sale for a variety of reasons. Your technician can help you select a piano in good playing condition and give you an idea of what type of maintenance you can expect in the future. Like selecting a used car, it's important to seek the help of an expert when making your purchase to avoid costly repairs in the future. Your technician also can provide you with guidance regarding the selection of a new instrument best suited to your own personal taste and domestic requirements.

Cleaning

Most owners of grand pianos notice (especially when the piano is being tuned and the lid is raised) the dirt that has accumulated on the soundboard under the strings. While a home vacuum cleaner may pick up some of the loose dust in this area, it really takes a thorough cleaning by your piano technician, who has the proper tools and experience, to do the job properly. In addition, the areas around the tuning pins, under the plate, and inside the keyboard, although much less visible, need to be periodically cleaned as well. A piano technician can remove the action and thoroughly clean the keybed, the area around the underlever tray, and the action itself. This will improve the performance of the action as well as prevent moisture and foreign objects and substances from doing damage to the working parts of the piano. If you think it's time for a cleaning, tell your piano technician at the time of the tuning appointment, so he can allow sufficient time for the extra work.