Dorset’s Most Experienced Piano Technician/Tuner.
Things to know about our piano service…
- If you have just moved your piano to a new home then please wait 4-6 weeks until it’s first new home tuning.
- Do all the notes play and repeat? If not then there maybe something more serious wrong. Please inform us if so.
- Our normal basic piano tuning charge is £105 inc vat, this can also include small repairs.
- There is no charge if we cannot tune your piano!
- No extra charge for insurance assessment.
Looking for piano repair/restorations…
Please phone or email or text any time for an immediate reply of piano tuning cost, please include your post code.
Tel: 07801 541058
Quick look at Dorset piano technician
- The most experienced piano technician in Dorset!
- Former County Council Piano Technician Contractors for Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, Harrow & Buck Schools.
- Tunings for Radio 4 and various musical colleges.
- Established since 1953.
- Safe hands for the best advice in the South.
Nigel R Ware Piano Technician History.
I began learning the trade of a piano tuner from the age of just 8 years old (1976) thanks to my Father teaching the trade to me very early on, but I actually started at 3 years old dusting down piano parts in my Father’s workshop, in my Father’s words “to give me something to do” (before ipads).
Pianos need tuning from as much as three times a year for the heavy used pianos and as little as once a year for the lesser used pianos. Kawai pianos are by far the most popular new pianos I tune the most these days, but in days gone by in the 1970s and 80s I was tuning mainly 1930’s pianos Bechsteins, Bluthners and a whole host of other long gone names. My main time was taken up with tuning school pianos, as we had the County Council contracts for Dorset, Hampshire and in the 1990’s West Sussex but then Government ended contract works for piano tuning.
How it works.
Very often we can make sure your piano will be tuned to A440 Hz concert pitch which is important mainly for accompaniment, on the odd occasion pianos may need multiple tunings if it has lost its tension to concert pitch and is as much as a one tone flat. But most common is between 30-40 minutes one tuning which will not be required again for a further one year.
During piano tuning we can also check for any other defects that may in time effect the playing and tone and may accelerate any extra wear and tear, there for we would be able to save you money and stress later. This aspect is important during piano tuning as every now and again we are called out to a piano that is very much beyond any help due to being neglected over the years with no tuning or competent technician in attendance.
Fine tuning.
Fine tuning is something we have always done routinely, and it essentially means we “set the pins” which is not always taught to piano tuners and thus many tuners if not all have very little knowledge on this in our local Dorset area. Setting the pins means we tune in a specific way as to secure the pianos tuning to last and stay in tune over a longer period.
Advise.
Most modern pianos these days deal quite well with heated homes, under floor heating is something that no piano handles very well and pianos in these homes need an extra eye kept out on them. The main reason for the 180lb tension on each string losing its tune is humidity or dryness, and over a course of a year in some older properties this can vary greatly. For modern homes with double or triple glazing you need to keep an eye on the humidity with an actual gauge, and you need to keep as close to 40%-60% humidity as possible. A real fire/wood burner in an average size house is fantastic to draw new air in and circulate during the winter months to stop the modern heating just drying out the atmosphere.
We travel all over the South for piano tuning and charges do vary depending on distances, please get in touch for a quote.
FAQ
How long does a tuning take us?
Nigel R Sibley-Ware is our min tuner and if you have him attend most tunings take around the 30 minutes, this is a lot faster than most piano tuners as he began learning to tune pianos at 8 years old by his father and was out tuning school pianos during his school holidays at the age of 11! Most piano tuners do not learn the craft until much later in life and there for always tend to take that bit longer.
What is pitch raise?
Pitch raising is often done as part of a normal tuning if its within a certain amount but anything around the 1/8 tone or more will take longer to tune around 45-60 minutes and also may take extra tunings up to 6! This is rare and unless really needed we advise to leave at the fallen pitch to keep the tuning stable.
Will a piano tuning cure sticking or noisey notes and help with an uneven or dull tone?
In short no, piano tuning will not do any of the above and the above issues will point towards other faults that can only be seen to in our workshop at added expense. We can look at your piano free of charge if within a certain area or advise over email or phone.
How often should my piano be tuned?
We advise 6 month if the piano is being played ever day by more than one user, once a year or twice a year for other moderate use.
Why does my piano still not sound right after tuning, or in tune in one key and not in another?
If your piano is in tune in one key signature but sounds off in another then this is a classic symptom of worn hammers. Pianos are often played in players favourite key signatures and not played in all the key signatures at equal times, there for some hammer head felts which are made from wool and are at a high-tension surface which will wear/become compressed at different rates and then over time render different tones. Tone is different from tuning as tone is controlled by the hammer head not the strings. To cure worn hammers the action needs removal to workshop and the hammer heads removed and refaced and then returned to the piano and then voiced.
