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When most customers ask me ask me if their piano is clean, they are almost never referring to what lurks underneath the keys or deep inside the piano.
Many only want their pianos to look good and be free of any scratches.
When I remove the action (because of troubleshooting sticking notes) and keys, most customers are absolutely horrified at the dust, dirt, grime and lost items hiding in plain sight just underneath the shiny keys.
These last two weeks, I have found a mouse nest (underneath the middle of the keyboard of a piano that was only ever just tuned), lots of spider webs, spiders, dead cockroaches, mouse droppings (pianos are a favorite place for mice to breed), bobby pins, guitar pics, and many other items.
I could write a book on the items I have found during all of the years I have been tuning.
While I do understand the expense of getting a piano tuned, I don't understand why all customers don't have their pianos cleaned THOROUGHLY INSIDE at least once every 5 years or so - especially noting the cleanliness aspect.
Yes, I actually will include cleaning on every SECOND TUNING that I do for a customer. That's easy to do because the piano would require only a normal tuning with the extra time being devoted to the other "stuff" hiding in plain sight under the keys or underneath the bottom board of an upright piano. If you need general cleaning (not soundboard cleaning - that would take more time) during the first tuning, the cost is $50. extra and the results are spectacular!
So please do the following:
1. Get your piano tuned at least once per year.
2. Have your technician clean the inside of the piano.
3. Have your technician suggest the best options of cleaning the outside of your piano.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Piano Tuning Quotes - "Please Give Me a Quote"
Continue reading below, but I no longer give quotes. I cannot quote on something I've never seen.
Fine-tuning (2 HOUR APPOINTMENTS that include minor adjustments and vacuuming UNDERNEATH KEYS), my fee is $185 GST included. That price is for Vancouver, North, and West Vancouver. For Richmond and Burnaby, the fee is $195.
Pitch raising or lowering IS INCLUDED, but you must understand that if your piano has not been tuned regularly, 2 times per year, every year, you should schedule another appointment in about 1-3 months. There is no way a piano can stay in tune after many years of neglect. When you attend a piano concert, you'll notice that the piano tuner comes on stage during intermission to make minor adjustments. So, if a piano goes slightly out of tune during the first part of a performance, imagine how far out of tune it will be in 6 months!
I always ask the customer to give me the general location of where the piano will be, the name of the piano and if possible, when it was last tuned.
At least this way, I have some information to help me assist the customer with general pricing guidelines.
For more information, check out my piano tuning fees: http://paulbrownrpt.blogspot.com/search/label/Piano Tuning Fees.
https://www.paulbrown.org Email: paulbrn@telus.net
Tel: 604-324-7013 (no texting)
Fine-tuning (2 HOUR APPOINTMENTS that include minor adjustments and vacuuming UNDERNEATH KEYS), my fee is $185 GST included. That price is for Vancouver, North, and West Vancouver. For Richmond and Burnaby, the fee is $195.
Pitch raising or lowering IS INCLUDED, but you must understand that if your piano has not been tuned regularly, 2 times per year, every year, you should schedule another appointment in about 1-3 months. There is no way a piano can stay in tune after many years of neglect. When you attend a piano concert, you'll notice that the piano tuner comes on stage during intermission to make minor adjustments. So, if a piano goes slightly out of tune during the first part of a performance, imagine how far out of tune it will be in 6 months!
I always ask the customer to give me the general location of where the piano will be, the name of the piano and if possible, when it was last tuned.
At least this way, I have some information to help me assist the customer with general pricing guidelines.
For more information, check out my piano tuning fees: http://paulbrownrpt.blogspot.com/search/label/Piano Tuning Fees.
https://www.paulbrown.org Email: paulbrn@telus.net
Tel: 604-324-7013 (no texting)
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