A graduate of the American School of Piano Tuning, I have already tuned and repaired hundreds of pianos. Whether the piano is an old family heirloom, a long neglected clunker, picked up off the side of the road, or fresh out of the shop: each instrument deserves to sing. And I will have your piano singing your favorite tunes once more.
*A standard piano tuning can take anywhere between one to two hours, sometimes up to three or more. Please plan accordingly!*
Pricing
- Standard Piano Tuning: $160
- Price includes piano tune, one Pitch Adjustment, minor repairs, and key clean.
- Additional Pitch Adjustment: $50 each
- Two Piano Standard Tuning: $285 ($35 off, roughly 11% off!)
- Piano Deep Clean: $200
- **MUST BE SCHEDULED AHEAD**
- Includes: removal of action (not spinet piano), minor action work, vacuum, debris removal, individual key clean, exterior wood clean, scratch touch-up/removal, and polish.
- $175 if scheduled with regular piano tuning.
- Additional Repair Rates:
- Minor Repair: $40-$55 per hour (for minor repairs beyond what is included in standard piano tuning cost)
- Major Repair: $85 per hour (for major work beyond what is included in standard piano tuning cost)
Services include (but are not limited to):
- Repair/Replacement of broken parts
- String Repair/Refurbishing
- Action Regulation/Voicing
- Action Repair/Replacement
- Key and Key-Top Recover/Replacement
- Removal of buzzing, rattling, sluggish keys, and other oddities
What is a Pitch Adjustment?
A “pitch adjustment” is a preparatory piano tuning before a standard tuning can begin. When pianos go out of tune, they do not do so evenly. Depending on the location of the piano, age, and weather, some pianos or sections of pianos are more susceptible to going out of tune unevenly. Ideally a piano should always be maintained at what is called “concert pitch”, or A440Hz. A pitch raise is needed when the piano is below the concert pitch of A440. A pitch lower is needed when the piano is above the concert pitch of A440. Simply put: a pitch adjustment brings the piano relatively in tune with itself before a fine-tune can occur.
This is why I always include the first pitch adjustment for FREE. Even if the piano is on the newer side and regularly tuned, more often than not each piano needs a pitch adjustment, however slight or significant. A pitch adjustment can also known as a “pitch correction”.
Sometimes a piano that has not been tuned in a very long time can be extremely below concert pitch, and it may take several pitch raises to bring it back up to A440Hz. If there is no immediate rush to bring a piano up to A440 in one sitting (which can take several hours and several pitch raises, with precarious and tedious work) a client can slowly and incrementally have the piano brought back up to pitch over several years with regular tunings and singular pitch raises.
Piano Action Work
- On-Site: Major Repair Rate, plus cost of materials/supplies (prices vary)
- Take Away (for extensive work): $125 flat fee, plus Major Repair Rate, plus cost of materials/supplies (prices vary)
- String Replacement:
- Treble String: $35 per string
- Bass String: $35 per string, plus $25 reinstallation fee (needs to be ordered and shipped)
Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver System Installation
All Dampp-Chaser installation fees include initial setup, parts, and labor.
- Upright Piano Dampp-Chaser Installation: $575
- Baby Grand Piano Dampp-Chaser Installation (5′ 11″ and under): $600
- Concert Grand Piano Dampp-Chaser Installation (6′ 0″ and above): $700
- Dampp-Chaser Maintenance: $35 (includes 16oz pad treatment bottle, two new pads, and cleaning)
What is a Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver System?
Keeping a consistent level of humidity inside your piano will extend its life and its overall interior “health”. If you live in a climate where the weather forecast is all over the place (ahem…New England!) this is a constant battle. If your piano is in a location in your home/place of work where it’s always humid or always dry, your piano’s interior humidity may be higher or lower than is good for the piano. Keeping a piano on an exterior wall can also greatly impact the fluctuation in temperature and humidity of the piano, furthering altering the piano’s humidity levels.
Humidity control matters because the thousands (yes, thousands!!) of wood, felt, buckskin, and steel parts in your piano can weaken, become unaligned or act incorrectly, and eventually break if the humidity levels are not carefully regulated. High humidity causes the piano’s wood to absorb the moisture and swell, then shrink, dry out, and possibly crack when the humidity is too low. The steel and copper parts inside the piano can rust and corrode over time, too. This will result in your piano going extremely flat (typically in the winter) or extremely sharp (typically in the summer). The overall structure and body of your piano will eventually lose its integrity.
The Dampp-Chaser system includes both a humidifier and a dehumidifier: the pads inside the water tank wick water to the humidifier to add moisture while the dehumidifier blows dry air through the piano to clear it away. Best of all, it’s smart enough to know the difference. A special pad treatment is also added to the tank (whenever water is) to help further conditioner and rejuvenate the wood of the piano.
For more information: