The most common service performed on a piano is tuning. In our climate, you will typically need your piano tuned twice annually. This is due to the tremendous fluctuations in outdoor temperatures which result in corresponding extremes in indoor humidity levels.
Oftentimes a piano will first need a "pitch correction." When the piano is considerably off-pitch, this is a quick, rough-in tuning to get it very close. It also allows the new tensions in the strings and pressures on the soundboard to equalize or smooth out over the range of the piano.
Sometimes, instead of doing a pitch correction it may be appropriate to "float" the tuning. If a piano is fairly evenly sharp or fairly evenly flat, it can be "tuned where it lies." I prefer to do this if the piano is a little bit flat in the winter or a little bit sharp in the summer.
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If you have had your piano for quite some time, you may have noticed that it just doesn't "feel" like it used to. It is important to keep in mind that a piano is a mechanical device, with thousands of moving parts. Just as your car or bicycle (with far fewer moving parts) needs periodic adjustments, so does your piano. Since the word "tuning" is already used vis-à-vis the piano, we refer to these adjustments as "regulation." Doing a complete regulation on any given piano is time-consuming. Exactly how much time it will take will vary quite a bit, as it depends on numerous factors, such as type of piano, what sort of action (the moving parts) your piano has, and of course, how badly out of regulation it is.
If you own a piano manufactured by Young Chang (which may include Weber, Wurlitzer, PianoDisc, and Cline) and it has started to play like a Mac Truck, you may be a victim of the Young Chang Expanding Bracket Problem. Please click here for more information.
PianoTonix will work with you to determine your piano's regulation needs. (please also see faq page)
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During the course of tuning your piano, Paul may discover a loose screw, a squeaky pedal, or a sticky note that will not repeat as rapidly as it should. Minor problems like that are taken care of on the spot, usually at no additional charge.
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There are two primary ways to manage the amount of humidity the piano gets exposed to:
• One is to humidify the room (or the whole house) during the winter heating season and dehumidify during the humid summer months. Dehumidifying can be accomplished by simply running a dehumidfier in the room. This can be quite effective if your piano is in a basement family room, for example. The piano's environment can also be dehumidified by air conditioning. An air conditioner's primary function is removing excess humidity from the air.
• The other way to stabilize the humidity in your piano is to install localized piano climate control by Dampp-Chaser, which maintains near-constant humidity levels within the piano itself. The Dampp-Chaser product, called the Piano Life Saver System, was developed during the late 1940's as a means to protect military radios from rust and corrosion in extremely damp conditions (in Panama), and subsequently evolved into other similar products, such as the Piano Life Saver. They have an excellent reputation worldwide, and Paul is a Dampp-Chaser Certified Installer.
PianoTonix will work with you to determine the most practical solution for humidity control in your piano.
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If you are considering the purchase of a piano, especially a used piano, you are well-advised to have a professional technician look it over before buying. Even "free" pianos usually come with a moving expense. "Free" pianos virtually always come with some repair (or at least some serious service) needs as well.
Car analogies abound in the piano technician’s realm, and this purchase-point circumstance is but one example. When a customer buys a used car, he or she will often take it to a mechanic first to go a step or two beyond "kicking the tires". A daily commute driver can drive the car and everything may feel just fine, but an experienced auto tech might find hidden problems or incorrect adjustments. Similarly, if you play a strange piano in a strange environment, it may sound and feel OK. Unless you are quite experienced and can really put the instrument through its paces, it is quite easy to miss some mechanical issues with a piano that is unknown to you.
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Piano owners occasionally may find that a piano no longer fits in their home or in their lifestyle, or is no longer playable and not worth the cost to repair it. To that end, the following websites are provided:
• Craig’s List is a great resource for selling things in your local area.
• Twin Cities Free Market is valuable for giving away useful items. Selling is not permitted on the TC Free Market site.
• Veolia Environment Services has facilities for disposing of large items like a basket case old piano. Prices are quite reasonable.
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People move from home to home. Pianos typically move with them. Contrary to a very common belief, moving does not necessarily cause a piano to go out of tune, particularly not grand pianos. However, a change in indoor climate will most assuredly make it go out of tune. It is always a good idea to let your piano acclimate to its new environment for a week or two before I come to tune it.
PianoTonix does not provide moving services, but Paul does provide, herewith, an alphabetically-ordered list of businesses that do:
- Greatland Transportation Systems - (800) 241-8132 (St. Croix Falls, WI area)
- Manny's Piano Moving - (763) 413-0288 (Twin Cities Metro)
- Piano Movers Extraordinaire - (763) 784-8123 (Twin Cities Metro)
- Ruth Piano Movers - (612) 332-3388 (Twin Cities Metro)
I recommend getting two or three quotes. Before you call, assess the conditions at each end of the move. Piano moving companies need to know these things:
- The style of piano (e.g. spinet, 6’ grand, old upright)
- The number of steps up or down at each end, inside and/or outside
- Whether or not there are any very tight turns for the movers to negotiate with your very heavy piano
Being flexible with your moving date, or providing sufficient advance notice, will probably benefit you.
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Contact PianoTonix to make an appointment.
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For a fairly complete list of locations served by PianoTonix, Click Here.
