ServicesI offer many services, most commonly Tuning, Regulation, and Repair. Every visit includes a free cleaning of the keyboard and interior of the piano. Bundle discounts are available to clients who request multiple services in a single visit. Read more about each of these below, or submit a contact form to ask me any questions you have.
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TuningA basic tuning (one round of fine tuning) starts at only $149*. If your piano hasn't been tuned in a few years or has been moved recently, it will most likely need two rounds of tuning to stay in tune - first a pitch raise to stretch the strings, then a fine tuning. If two rounds of tuning are needed the price is $229*. Proper care of a piano includes getting a tuning once or twice a year. I need to listen carefully to the piano while tuning, so a relatively quiet environment is necessary - please don't schedule tunings at the same time you'll be practicing drums or working with loud power tools, plan for 1-2 hours of quiet time while I tune.
RepairAny broken or missing part (including strings and all of the parts in the action) can be repaired or replaced. Repair pricing is the same as regulating: $89* per hour for repairs only, or $69* per hour when combined with other services. Many small repairs that are a quick fix will be free if I'm already tuning or regulating for you. Ask me to estimate pricing for whatever repairs you need by submitting the form below.
Center Pinning & Flange RebushingThe pictures below show flanges in different parts of the piano. There is a pin called a center pin sticking through two felt-lined holes in a piece of wood, generally screwed or glued onto another part. These allow for rotation of parts with relatively low friction. Flange bushings (the red felt between the center pin and wood flange) can swell and become tight, causing parts to lose range of motion and stop functioning properly. Sometimes this can be remedied with some piano-safe lubricant; I will always try that first, free of charge. If lubricant doesn't fix the issue, the flange must be repinned, which involves filing down the bushing and putting in a new center pin of a different size. Bushing felts can also compress over time, causing loose parts that shift the alignment and wear out the moving parts faster. Repinning or rebushing is the only cure for this, most pianos can be repinned with a larger size pin for a better fit. Some pianos that have been repinned multiple times will need to be rebushed, which is the process of replacing and filing down the felt. Parts that have been rebushed will always need to be repinned afterwards. For flange rebushing, which includes repinning, I charge $389* for a set of 88 (most pianos have 88 keys) and $359* for each additional set that's part of the same job. Most pianos will need more than one set of flanges worked on. For repinning only, I charge $289* for the first set and $259* for each additional one. I need to take the interior parts of the piano home with me for these jobs, so you won't be able to play for at least 24-48 hours. Sometimes only a few parts needs to be repinned or rebushed, in this case it is billed like a repair (see pricing above).
CleaningI do a 5 minute clean up for every piano I service, free of charge. Feel free to ask me to clean something if you think I missed it, and ask about the cleaning solutions I use - it's not hard to keep your piano looking new and shiny when you have the right stuff. See the slideshow on the homepage for before and after cleaning pictures. I also offer deep cleaning, billed hourly like repairs and regulation for more intensive care.
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RegulationRegulation needs to be done every 5-10 years for the average piano as felts and wooden parts wear down with heavy usage, time, and temperature and humidity changes. To regulate a piano, a technician must adjust moving parts by turning screws, adding shims, or bending glue joints to properly align everything inside of the piano. Sticking, sluggish, or slow to return keys, notes that ring out when they should be quiet, uneven key height, and many other problems related to the feeling of playing the piano are solved with regulation. Price for a regulation is $89* per hour of work, or $69* per hour if I'll be tuning or doing other repairs in the same visit. Worn felts and missing or broken parts need to be replaced prior to regulation. Pianos that have grooves in the hammers should be reshaped, and will require regulation afterwards - all in all about 10 hours of work, depending on the depth of the grooves. Some pianos have hammers with grooves so deep the hammers must be replaced, other pianos have perfectly shaped hammers and level keys, and will only need an hour or two of work to regulate. It is possible to partially regulate a piano that has deep grooves in the hammers without shaving or replacing them, but is not ideal as it will need regulation again when the hammers do get reshaped or replaced.
Key BushingsThe pictures below show the key bushings, which are the red felts that sit between the keys and the pins on the balance rail and the front rail. Like all other felts in the piano, bushing felts will swell, compress, and wear from years of use and temperature and humidity changes. Loose felts need to be replaced as they lead to improper alignment and increased wear and tear on other parts of the action; this process is called rebushing. You can tell that a bushing felt needs replacement when you can wiggle the keys side to side excessively. See the video below for a demonstration. On the other end of the spectrum, bushing felts can swell and become tight, causing excess friction which leads to sticking keys. This can be fixed by easing the keys, which is the process of compressing the wood around the felt with special parallel action pliers. Price is $429* to replace a set of key bushings, or $799* if you need both the front and balance rails done - I will need to take the keys out of the piano and keep them for at least 24-48 hours while glue dries before I can reinstall them. Keys that need to be eased are priced like repairs (see above), as well as jobs that only need one or a few keys to be rebushed, like the piano in the video below.
Piano Condition ReportsAre you thinking of picking up a free piano from KSL or Facebook Marketplace? Before you pay hundreds of dollars in moving fees, have a technician check the piano out for you. Many pianos have problems which will cost thousands of dollars in repairs. For only $79*, I'll evaluate the piano before you buy it and give a detailed report of its condition as well as price estimates for all of the repairs and servicing it may need. Half the price of the condition report will be deducted from the cost of repairs if you decide to use my services! One of my clients inherited a 'free' piano from their in-laws, spent $500 to move it to their house and invited me to come tune it. As soon as I played a few notes I realized the piano had pinblock issues, making it impossible to tune. Pinblock repairs cost upwards of $3000. Save yourself the headache and secure your peace of mind. Have a technician check the piano before you buy. Click here to see an example condition report.
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*All prices are subject to change
