- Piano Tuning
- Piano Repair & Maintenance
- Piano Rebuilding
- FAQ
- Our Repair Rates
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Piano Tuning
Tuning is the most basic part of regular piano maintenance. Most piano manufacturers will suggest that you have your piano professionally tuned at least two times a year (every six months). This insures not only that your piano stays in tune as the seasons, temperatures and humidity change but also that no undue stress is placed on the sound board, case and other tension dependant portions of your piano.
Notes on your piano are made up of three strings each in the treble section and typically two strings in high bass and one in low bass sections. The process of tuning involves muting all but one of the strings in a note and tuning that note to pitch. After that string has the proper tension, the mute is placed to where two strings are free and the second is tuned to the tension of the first and finally the third string is un muted and tuned to the other two. This process is repeated across all 88 notes until the entire piano is tuned to A440.
our tuning charges are reasonable at pitch tuning anywhere in Sri Lanka and an additional sum reqired if the piano requires a “pitch raise” to bring it back to concert pitch (typical of pianos that have not been tuned in several years).
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Piano Repair & Maintenance
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Piano repair & maintenance is basically everything between tuning and a complete rebuild. On top of replacing broken parts and repairing broken or non-functioning keys, there are some regular piano maintenance requirements. These maintenance items occasionally include procedures such as: |
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- Felt Replacement
- Hammer reconditioning
- Soundboard cleaning
- Voicing
- Keyboard refurbishing
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Unfortunately, not all of these items can be replaced or repaired on site and may require your piano's inner components (i.e. the "action") to be taken out and brought back to our shop for the procedure to be correctly carried out.
The good news is that your piano can be closed up while the action is out and these procedures will not typically take longer than a week to perform and can be expedited in special circumstances.
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Piano Rebuilding |
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Piano rebuilding is a large task that may involve the complete overhaul of the entire piano action, sound board, strings, and case. In most situations a complete piano rebuild will require our team to move the entire piano to our shop and may take more than a month to complete.
Pianos are built to last a lifetime but after decades of use and regular wear and tear a piano can become quite worn out as it's action is mostly made of wood and felt.
Lanier Piano Co. specializes in complete piano restoration and piano rebuilding projects. We know that such a large project can be overwhelming and stressful so please give a call today to get a free consultation and find out if your piano can be restored to its original glory!
Piano Forte offers a wide array of piano rebuilding options that involve everything from just getting your piano back up to par or restoring it to like new play ability and sound quality! |
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FAQ |
I am on a budget; can I have my piano repaired/rebuilt in stages? |
The good news is that no matter how old your piano is or much in disrepair it is, we can most likely break down a complete rebuild into affordable stages. Give us a call to schedule an inspection and we will make a list of all the repairs that need to be done to bring it to like new condition and then let you know which repairers can be broken into stages. The best place to start is simply to allow us to give you some feed back and then you can decide what is in the budget! |
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| What is my piano worth? |
A piano's value has a lot more factors involved than simply money. Pianos for most families are considered heirlooms and have a lot of emotional value as well as monetary value. We offer a piano appraising service that allows us the chance to come out and evaluate your piano, make a list of all that needs to be done to get it into proper condition and then we can let you know how much we feel that you could sell it for in repaired or as is condition.
Also, we have a large customer base of piano teachers and enthusiast so we may have a buyer for you already... just give us a call! |
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| My piano is very old, can it be restored or should I just throw it away? |
Before deciding to toss a piano out on the street or give it away, we suggest that you at least explore the option of rebuilding it. Even a very old and worn out piano can typically be restored to like new condition for a fairly reasonable price.
We offer a piano appraisal service and would be more than happy to come out and give you a list or suggested repairs and their related costs.
Also, before simply throwing it out or donating it, let us know your thoughts and we may have a customer who would be happy to buy it from you! |
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| I am thinking of buying a new piano, what type should I buy? |
Which style of piano to buy depends largely on what you are going to be using the piano for. Most of the factors involved are sound, playability, look and overall floor space required. Obviously, a grand piano takes up the most room and is the most expensive option, but it will have the best sound and also provide the best playability and look. On the other end of the spectrum is the spinet piano, you can find some tremendous value in a spinet piano and it also does not require much space in your living room but you will have to sacrifice the quality of the sound and playability. |
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| Why does my piano go out of tune? |
Pianos go out of tune for a couple reasons, both having to do with seasonal changes in weather. The first is temperature swings and the second is humidity changes. Pianos are made mostly out of wood and metal, that being the case, they are subject to contraction and expansion when the weather changes. This in turn causes the piano strings to either tighten or loosen and therefore causes the piano to travel out of tune.
This is the reason that most piano tuners will say that your piano needs to be tuned at least twice a year around major seasonal changes.
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| How often should I have my piano tuned? |
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Most piano manufacturers will suggest that you have your piano professionally tuned at least twice a year. In order to keep it in prime condition its a good idea to base the regularity of your piano tuning on not only how often the piano gets played but also what type of setting it is in and the overall condition of the piano. Once we tune your piano we should have a pretty good idea of how often it will need repeat tunings in order to keep it sounding beautiful year round!
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| Selling a Piano in Piano Forte? |
Our piano brokering service has been custom tailored to fit your piano selling needs anywhere in the Denver or Boulder Co areas. By popular demand we have finally put together a piano brokering service package that is sure to help you sell your piano faster and with greater ease.
Buying a pre-owned piano is an exciting and sometimes stressful experience. What we've done with this package is try to combine the needs of the seller (you), with the needs and desires of the buyer. Most buyers want to know that the piano they are considering purchasing is going to fit their needs and expectations and not being piano experts, they are typically somewhat nervous about making this purchase. When we have tuned and inspected a piano providing our 15 point inspection report the buyer can rest assured that they know exactly what they are getting into. Most people are OK with a piano not being in showroom condition, they simply want to make sure they are not purchasing a lemon! They want the comfort of knowing the piano has been checked out by a professional.
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| On top of the tuning, detailing and inspecting of your piano, we bring our unique knowledge of how to market and sell a pre-owned piano. By using this service you will be able to take advantage of our existing internet marketing campaigns that drive more than 3k unique Denver area visitors to our website every month. Also, by using a video ad instead of just a picture you are sure to be put way ahead of the pack! So here is what you can expect from our brokering package: |
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At Pitch Tuning
Detailing of the Case, Bench, Soundboard and Keyboard
15 Point Inspection Report (click to see sample report) to show prospective buyers
Short Video Ad for online use
Value Appraisal/Suggested Selling Price
Short Description Article
Serial # Look Up
Ads On This Site and On Craigslist.com
Exposure to the Music Teachers We Serve and Their Students |
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| So say goodbye to piano consignment shops charging 50% of your selling price or trying to market and sell your piano by yourself,Use the contact form to contact us and set an appointment today. |
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| Our Repair Rates |
Here is a list and short description of piano repairs that we provide in the Denver and Boulder metro areas. We will also venture outside of the metro area but it may involve a small mileage fee.
We gladly provide free consultations. Knowing that a lot of piano owners may not know much about their pianos or how to maintain them, we are happy to be of service if you have any questions at all. If you have questions please give us call, we can typically provide a consultation over the phone but even if we need to come out to your home this service is always free with Lanier Piano Co.
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Our standard tuning appointment involves fine tuning your piano to This is referred to as it is the standard musical pitch that your piano was designed for. Also, we are happy to clean your keyboard and dust your sound board upon request. We also don't like to nickel and dime people so we include any repairs that can be made within 10-15 minutes (i.e. sticking, non-functioning keys, sustaining notes, minor pedal adjustments, etc.) and don't charge extra for mileage either!
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- Pitch Raise Tuning (in addition to a standard tuning) -
A pitch raise or pitch adjustment is required when a piano is either very flat (i.e. the strings are looser than they should be) or very sharp (they are tighter than they should be). This process is more involved than a standard tuning as each string has to be tightened or loosened and the tension has to be equalized over the bridges as the piano is being fine tuned. This process involves more skill and time to perform thus it is an extra charge. This is typically required on pianos that have not been tuned in 3 years or more or have been moved.
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- Hammer Reconditioning/Voicing -
This procedure will require that we remove your piano's action (the inside mechanism) and take it back to our shop for a few days. When we recondition a set of hammers out goal is to restore them to their proper shape and density. Over time as the hammers strike the string their tips become flattened and grooved where they make contact with the strings. This flat, compacted and grooved surface diminishes your piano's tonal quality as well as causes it to go out of tune faster and deteriorate the regulation in the action. We suggest that hammers be reconditioned at least once ever 10-15 years for optimal sound.
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There are about 6,000 parts that make up a grand piano's action and nearly the same amount in an upright! A lot of these parts move every time a note is played and there are about 5 points on every notes that need to be adjusted periodically. These adjustments control how a note behaves when played. The depth of strike, force, amount of let off, etc. As you can imagine, over time pianos get all out of adjustment and become uneven across the keyboard. When this starts to happen it is very frustrating the play! This is when you need an piano action regulation. We take the action out and adjust everything back to the factory specs or to match your preferences.
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Your pianos key tops are either ivory or plastic with a wood core. These tops can chip, warp and discolor over time and may need to be replaced. We can replace ivory key tops with ivories that match fairly well but since we go through a lot of ivory key tops please contact us for a special price on this. The other option is to replace them with simulated ivory tops. These are a high quality resin and look very similar to ivory tops so as to maintain the antique look and feel of your piano. If you have plastic tops we simply replace them with new tops of the same original color.
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- Piano Climate Control Systems -
If your piano is in Colorado, our dry weather may cause the felts inside your pianos action to harden and stop being able to do their job. There are hundreds of felt or leather pads in our piano action (the internal mechanism) to soften the sound of each note when you play. If you have an older piano you may have already noticed that some notes click or tick when played. A humidifier will help keep your piano in great shape for longer. Also, when installed and properly maintained, a piano humidifier will help your piano to hold it's tune longer and preserve the sound board and bridges. |
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