What Can You Expect a Tuner To Do?

[courtesy]

I've been trying to get a tuner to tune my piano. I bought it second hand and although everything works there are a few things that need looking at (ie sometimes the notes don't sound if I press two keys beside each other quickly and one of the notes sounds like the sustain pedal is being used etc etc).

Would a tuner fix these minor little problems or do they just tune the piano (meaning I would then have to get a piano technician)?

I've phoned around and been quoted ÂŁ40-ÂŁ45 to tune - is this the going rate (one guy quoted me ÂŁ60 upwards depending on what work needs done.) I was also told by a tuner that if he didn't think the piano worth tuning I would have to pay a ÂŁ25 call-out charge. (The piano is playable but just sounds out of tune - some notes more so than others.)

[Barrie Heaton]

Most tuners blind or full sited should be able to tackle most minor repairs on site

As to the going rate all depends where you live that price is fine for the Midlands and north but you would pay a lot more down south

call-out charges are getting more common I did not use to charge them but you go out to that much rubbish sold form EBay you have to or you lose to much money


Barrie,

[courtesy]

Thanks Barrie - the piano is fine to play on and everything does work. Its just a few minor things like notes occasionally sticking or not playing if you repeat too quickly. At least I'll be prepared if a tuner tries to fob me off with a jobsworth attitude. (I've been having difficulty locating a tuner - one manager of a piano store said he was fed up being pestered to tune pianos - a fine choice of words when someone is wanting to pay you to do something).

[Barrie Heaton]

(ie sometimes the notes don't sound if I press two keys beside each other quickly and one of the notes sounds like the sustain pedal is being used etc etc).

That sound like the old elastic band trick for broken damper springs as some times the band is round the next note as well so when you play the note it releases some of the tension of the elastic band and allowing the note to sing

Barrie,

[Tunatech]

The charges seem to be quite fair but tuning only involves tensioning the strings and nothing else..repairs are always extra. It's as if you took a car to a garage to have the engine crypton tuned and were expecting the garage to replace the faulty brake pads for free..it ain't gonna happen.

[PianoGuy]

The charges seem to be quite fair but tuning only involves tensioning the strings and nothing else..repairs are always extra. It's as if you took a car to a garage to have the engine crypton tuned and were expecting the garage to replace the faulty brake pads for free..it ain't gonna happen.

Word bro!

[Gill the Piano]

I once had to hold a large, p*ssed-off cat while the owner cut some knots out of its fur...I've signed for parcels...I've mended a cupboard door...I've changed a lightbulb...I've fixed a curtain rail...I've given counselling/sympathy...I've been asked sartorial advice (which is a scream if you ever saw the state of me)...I dunno, what SHOULD you expect a tuner to do?!

[Bill Kibby]

I am always appalled that tuners think that all they have to do is tune the piano, don't they realise that there is so much more than can be achieved with just a little effort to keep the piano performing well for the owner. Isn't it good business sense to deal with minor problems as part of the service? So what do you do if the pedal squeaks, or a note sticks? IGNORE IT?? Then again, the idea that the piano is "playable but just sounds out of tune" and oh yes, it has sticking notes and, oh yes... what else? Usualy, the notes you can SEE sticking are just the tip of the iceberg.

[PianoGuy]

I am always appalled that tuners think that all they have to do is tune the piano, don't they realise that there is so much more than can be achieved with just a little effort to keep the piano performing well for the owner. Isn't it good business sense to deal with minor problems as part of the service?

Absolutely, but surely better business sense is to know where to draw the line between fixing those irritating little niggles (which cost you nothing to do but a few moments) and knowing when to charge extra for doing so. The real annoyance is when a client tells you that a key is sticking that 'wasn't sticking before you tuned it' and you have to explain that if that's the case then tuning will have had absolutely no bearing on this whatsoever and it's simply coincidence.