Pianos are beautiful pieces of furniture and complex machines that require care and maintenance to look and perform their best. Navigating the different work that goes into a piano can be daunting; we offer a few different service packages to help you meet your goals.

Basic service

Our basic service appointment is a simple tuning appointment that includes complimentary keyboard cleaning and light cabinet cleaning.

Pitch will naturally fluctuate through the year as the relative humidity changes and will generally fall flat in the long term. Regular tuning, typically every 6–12 months, will help keep your piano sounding good between tunings.

NOTE

Tuning corrects the pitch of the instrument but does not cover any mechanical maintenance or repairs.

We will inspect many aspects of your piano every appointment to ensure there are no problems that need to be addressed. Maintenance and repair advice will be given as needed.

Services Included

• inspection
• pitch raise, 1 pass (if needed)
• fine tuning
• keyboard cleaning
• light cabinet cleaning
• maintenance and repair advice

Pitch raises

If a piano is not tuned regularly or there are large humidity swings, it will go flat (or sharp!) enough that an initial rough tuning pass becomes necessary to stabilize the overall string tension at the appropriate level for fine tuning. We are always prepared to perform one extra tuning pass at every appointment at no extra charge. In extreme cases, additional passes may be necessary. This will usually require another appointment.

How flat does a piano need to be for a pitch raise to be necessary?

We believe a pitch raise should be performed any time the whole piano is flat. When measured, if a piano is more than 3¢ flat (1¢ is 1/100th of a half step), we will perform a pitch raise. By providing this service at no additional cost, our technicians are free to provide a better, more stable tuning for you!

Full service

This is the best choice for pianos that have been, or will be, regularly maintained and will bring the most out of your instrument. In addition to fine tuning, special attention will be paid to the mechanical functioning and the tone generation of the instrument. Adjustments will be made to the mechanism of each key to even out the feel throughout the keyboard and to adjust the tone where necessary.

Even if your piano is brand new, improvements can always be made to make sure the piano is performing at its best and customized to your preference.

Services included

• everything in basic service
• minor repairs (most repairs, including parts <$10)
• regulation touch-up (touch & feel)
• voicing touch-up (tone)
• cabinet polishing
• soundboard cleaning
• interior cleaning

NOTE

Not everything may be included every appointment—priority is given to services that will be most impactful. Please note specific concerns when booking your appointment.

Revive & Renew

Revive & Renew is a specialized package for older uprights and grands that have missed years of maintenance, have been neglected by a previous owner, or were not set up properly in the factory. The goal is to put the piano in a state where regular maintenance will be more beneficial.

NOTE

This service is generally NOT recommended for pianos more than 50 years old. See below for more information.

Over time, the various felts in the piano action, including the hammers, will become worn with use. Not only does this affect the touch, feel, and tone of the instrument, but it also makes it more difficult to adjust. Worn hammers can be reshaped and compressed felt can be resized to allow better performance and maintenance of the action.

During your appointment, your technician will thouroughly inspect the instrument and discuss your goals so that we can ensure the piano will meet your needs. The piano action will be removed and taken to our shop where we can perform the work needed. A followup appointment will be scheduled, usually 1 week later to reinstall the action and service the piano.

Services included

• everything in basic service & full service
• hammer reshaping
• hammer alignment
• action felt resizing
• comprehensive lubrication

Pianos more than 50 years old

The expected lifespan of most maintained pianos is 50 years. Beyond this point, they may pose additional challenges due to extremely worn, dried out felt in the action. Even after performing this service, the piano’s performance may be subpar. Worn damper felt tends to be especially problematic, allowing strings to continue sounding after the key has been released. When possible, higher level restorative work is recommended.

Restorative work

Any work that undoes years of wear on a piano through part replacement or conditioning is restorative work. Technicians have differing opinions on what constitutes a restoration, but they can be put into two broad categories.

Reconditioning

Piano reconditioning refers to the process of refurbishing the parts that are already in the piano. Some reconditioning jobs will include hammer replacement and restringing as well.

The reconditioning process includes fully disassembling the piano action and carefully removing the old, worn felt and replacing it with new felt. There are about 1,000 pieces of felt in the piano action that need to be removed and replaced. Many of these are custom cut for each piano. The process is slow and laborious, but the result is very rewarding! Even a 100 year old piano can be restored to very good condition through reconditioning.

Rebuilding

Rebuilding a piano usually involves replacing the old parts with new ones outright. This will usually include the pinblock and parts of the bridge as well. The soundboard will usually be repaired and refinished, but can be replaced in some cases.

During the process, the piano will be almost completely disassembled—stripped down to its exterior cabinet. Refinishing is usually added on as this is the perfect time to do a comprehensive refinishing.

A high quality rebuilding can restore a piano to better than new condition by improving the piano with modern parts and practices that weren’t available when it was originally designed. Sometimes it is more desireable to rebuild a piano to its exact factory specification. Many aspects of a rebuilding project will depend on your preferences and goals.