Piano Tuning and repairing

Yes, I tune and fix pianos!

I have tuned pianos large and small, plain and fancy, high performance and mediocre, in a number of performance venues, schools, churches, recording studios, piano stores, and private homes.  I've worked on every major brand, and a great many minor brands you've never heard of!  Chances are good that I've tuned or repaired a piano just like yours.  At one time (back in the day!), I and my crew serviced most of the performing artists that came through here in the Hampton Roads area.  I have years of extensive hands-on experience with Steinway, Yamaha, Bosendorfer, Kawai, Petrof, Fazioli, and other top brands, as well as the "living room" grade pianos such as Kimball, Story and Clark, Everett, Baldwin, and others.

Due to other commitments, I regret that I'm unable to keep a full time schedule of appointment times available.  I normally take about two (sometimes three) appointments a week, and I can make an evening or weekend time work for you, so please feel free to contact me to chat about it.

How does one tune a piano?  

There is a certain amount of science and art involved.  Essentially, each note on the piano is sounded by one or more strings that have to "sing" together to make a pleasant sound.  The tuner uses a pitch reference (whether an old-fashioned tuning fork, or, an electronic device of some kind) to tune one of the strings to the mathematically correct pitch, and then, the tuner uses his skills, knowledge, and hearing abilities to tune the other strings to the first string.  There is a certain amount of mechanical ability, scientific knowledge, and musical knowledge, all engaged simultaneously.

Can you tune MY piano??

The short answer is YES (probably)!  I am trying to focus primarily on grand and baby grand pianos at this point, due to a shoulder injury that was brought on by repetitive motion over the years of tuning upright pianos. I had a total shoulder replacement in December 2023.  I appreciate your understanding.  I won't completely rule out an upright piano, though, so if you have one (in my experience, this is what most home users have!),  I'm happy to discuss it with you, and maybe we can make it work. Please ask! 

What if my piano hasn't been tuned in years and years?

Even if your piano hasn't been tuned in many years, or, if another tuner has said that your piano is untunable, sometimes I can still coax a little more life out of it.  It will take several tuning visits to get your piano to stabilize and hold the tuning.  The tendency of the piano is to return to the state that it was in, so if it had not been tuned in years, it is "used" to being out of tune from a structural standpoint.  On the other hand, a piano that is tuned 2-3 times a year (which is what every piano manufacturer recommends; Steinway says 4 times a year for maintenance, and before every performance; Kimball says 6 times the first year!) will not have to undergo structural displacement to a significant degree when tuned each time, and will tune easier, and hold its tuning longer.  Here's something to bear in mind... If your piano has not been tuned in 10 years, you are 20-30 tunings behind(!) from what the manufacturer recommends.  It will take some time and attention to get your piano "caught up".  Thankfully, it won't take 20-30 tunings!  But, it will probably take more than just one to bring it back.. that's just a fact of life.  What if your piano hasn't been tuned in 20 years? 30 years?  There are a great many pianos out there that have NEVER been tuned from new.

Bottom line:  IF YOUR PIANO HAS NOT BEEN TUNED IN A WHILE:  For pianos that have not been tuned in more than 12 months, you will very likely need more than one tuning to get your piano to "standard pitch", which, here in the US, is the note A4 vibrating at 440Hz (in Europe, the standard is A4=442Hz).  This need not be completed in one sitting, and in fact, it would be better to spread out the multiple tunings over a period of weeks.  Pianos not at standard pitch will not play that great or sound that great, because they are designed by the manufacturer to have a certain amount of tension on the harp, cabinet, and strings.  If you do not wish to tune your piano to standard pitch, that is your prerogative, but your results may not be optimal.  Mr. Doug can tune your piano to itself so that the notes will at least be the right intervals apart.

My piano is broken!  Can you fix it?

The short answer is yes, absolutely!  The good news with pianos is that many times a sticking key or something stuck in the piano is not a major overhaul; it's just a matter of getting in there, working your way down through the mechanical parts to where the problem is, and fixing the problem.  It can be time-consuming and tedious, but yes, it can be done.  There are other common problems, like a key that has no power, or a pedal that doesn't do its job.  That stuff can be fixed, too.   

Because pianos are made of soft things like wood, wool, and felt, those soft parts can wear out or break over time.   They can be replaced, although it's not super unusual to have to make a part.  Plastic parts down in the piano action can be troublesome.  There is a particular brand of piano that used some terrible plastic back in the 50s, and we went through a spell in the 90s-2000s where we were replacing 88 of everything in those pianos.  I would much rather make a little wooden part now and then!

Sometimes you find something that's a real head-scratcher, and it can be an extensive issue that will take some troubleshooting to figure out.  Like anything mechanical, sometimes you can throw bad money after good trying to fix something that is beyond its useful life.   For example, it would not be good money spent to just put new bridal straps and key felt on a 120 year old piano that you found out in somebody's barn.  That piano has bigger problems.  On the other hand, your grandmother might have had an old Steinway or Knabe or Mason and Hamlin upright, and with a little bit of elbow grease, you will have a piano that is better than any new piano on the market. 

My piano is dirty inside!  I don't know how to clean it!

No problem.  I can take care of that for you.  On an upright piano, there are delicate mechanical things inside the piano; wood, felt, and wool.  Dirt gets in there, and damages those soft things that make the piano work.  I can clean those things for you, and open up the bottom and clean up the pedals and levers (a LOT of dirt tends to accumulate in the bottom of the piano).  Also the tuning pin area tends to get dusty, and dust gets down in the pinblock, and can damage it, causing the tuning pins to no longer hold.   I can clean this for you, too.  On a grand piano, in addition to all of the concerns that one would have on an upright piano, the soundboard also collects dust, and can be very unsightly.  

Cleaning an upright can normally be done on the same visit as the tuning, and is something that I include as part of the service call.  Cleaning a grand is a separate service, and will require its own appointment time.  It's a pretty big job, and I have to bring a helper, because we have to remove the lid, we have to remove the action from the cabinet, and we may have to move the piano a bit.

My piano just doesn't play and feel like it used to.  Can anything be done about that?

Yes.  What you're talking about is regulation.  There is a certain set of mechanical performance standards that every piano has set by the manufacturer in terms of things like how far the keys are supposed to press down, how fast the keys respond to let off, how far the hammers strike, etc.  By nature of the action of thousands upon thousands of key presses and hammer strikes, the mechanical tolerances tend to slip over time, and have the action regulated will bring the piano back into optimal performance as designed by the factory.  Action regulation should be done about every five years or so on the typical piano.  This is about a six hour job, and involves removing the action from the piano.  

I read somewhere that humidity changes are what make my piano go out of tune.  Living here on the coast, what can we do about it?

There is an excellent solution for this.  There is a product called the Piano Life Saver (known in some circles as a Dampp-Chaser) which works to mitigate the problems caused by humidity swings.  This is a system that mounts internally in an upright piano, or, mounts under the bottom of a grand piano.  It consists of an electronic humidistat, a water reservoir, a humidifier, and one or more de-humidifiers.  The humidistat detects when the humidity in the piano goes above 43%, and when it does, it turns on the de-humidifers.  When the humidity goes below 43%, it turns on the humidifier.  It is VERY effective, and maintains a perfect balance of humidity at all times in the piano year round.  There is a small indicator panel that shows the system operating, and will also show when water needs to be added to the system (this is the only user intervention required).  The piano technician performs regular maintenance on the system at regular piano tuning service calls.  We have installed a great many of these systems over the years, and they made a world of difference in terms of tuning stability, piano longevity, and cost savings for the clients.  There is a five year parts and labor warranty from the manufacturer; it is tried and true, proven and tested.  The system requires about four hours to install, and includes two piano tunings as part of the package.

Service Areas

I work from my home in Poquoson, which is right on the coast between Hampton and Yorktown.  With that in mind, the service call fee is $150, flat rate (yes, the fee is an up-front quote... I hate surprises, too!), for anywhere in the following Hampton Roads cities and areas:

I will also go beyond these areas on a case-by-case basis.  Please contact me with your location, and I will quote you a rate.

What does the fee cover?  It covers 1) travel time to and from the appointment; 2) the labor cost of the actual service work; 3) a 30 day warranty on the tuning, and 4) a one year warranty on repairs.

If I cannot tune your piano due to some extenuating circumstance, such as severe mechanical problems, severe rust, or structural issues, there will be a $60 fee assessed for the time and travel.  Thanks for understanding.  

A service call normally takes about an hour for a routine tuning.  If you have repair issues that go beyond tuning, please mention them when scheduling.  To schedule an appointment, please contact Mr. Doug directly at 757-349-9002 (call or text) .  You can also book your appointment online here on the  website!  Thanks so much for your interest.