Frequently Asked Questions
Below is an assortment of Frquently Asked Questions.
I have compiled these from emails and general conversation with customers.
Q: What is a Pitch Raise?
A: A Pitch Raise/Lower is a seperate tuning procedure. If your piano is extremely flat or sharp, the tension on the strings will vary alot from one end of the piano to the other. A pitch raise/lower is done to get the tension on all the strings about where it needs to be for fine tuning at the correct pitch.
An extremely flat piano sounds dull and lifeless, and will not sound very good with another instrument. If you have a child in lessons and your piano is 1/4 step or more flat, I highly recommend having this done. An extremely sharp piano can start breaking strings.
Neither of these scenarios are good for a piano students ear, long term exposure to incorrect pitch can affect their sense of pitch. Standard pitch is A440.
A: We do! We currently work on Yamaha Clavinova models and are willing to work on other brands. Keep in mind that these are Electric Pianos and will almost always require parts replacement. If the manufacturer doesn't exist any longer, we can't get parts.
Q: Do you work on electric pianos?
Q: Do you work on player pianos?
A: We work on all player types, turn of the century pnuematics and the newer computer controlled types. These will typically require multiple appointments starting with an inspection/consultation and then differing levels of the repair.
Q: How long does a tuning take?
A: The best answer? It depends. It depends largely on the pianist and how sensitive they are to it being out of tune, it depends on the piano and whether or not you like your windows open or the A/C on. Generally in the Fort Wayne area I have been able to tune most pianos once per year. This is a minimum and usually you can hear the piano being out of tune pretty well by this point. If a Pitch Raise was done I usually schedule an appointment in 6 months and then move it to once a year.
A: Piano Tuning usually takes about 2 hrs. This depends on how cooperative the piano decides to be. If a ptich raise is done it will take an extra 1-2 hrs total.
Q: Why does my piano go out of tune?
A: Changes in humidity. The pianos wooden structure absorbs and dissipates moisture. The piano will be substantially sharp in high humidity if it's tuned to pitch in low humidity and vice versa. Over the period of a year this stretching and relaxing of the strings and wooden parts knocks the piano out of tune.
Q: How do you tune a piano?
A: Pianos are tuned by moving tuning pins a minute amount to adjust the tension on each of 250 +/- strings. As the piano is tuned each of these strings will have a slightly different tension on it causing a need to check and possibly go back though checking the tuning until all the strings are where they need to be.