Keep Them Spinet Pianos Tuned

Wurlitzer spinet piano located in Lenexa, KS

This is a Wurlitzer spinet piano I tune in Lenexa, KS that has been serviced every year for the last ten. It tunes up great and holds its pitch very well because it is serviced on a regular basis. I would recomend every spinet piano be tuned at least once a year by a Registered Piano Technician.

Spinet pianos are sometimes neglected more than other types. I run across too many spinets that haven't been tuned for 30 or 40 years. There is a lot of these little spinets around that were made in the 60's and they will keep me busy for a long time to come. A spinet is the easiest piano to move but sometimes the hardest to repair because of the way the keys are connected to the action.
 
Durand Piano Tuning in Lenexa, KS
(816) 587-9970

Piano Tuning in Parkville, MO

Steinway console piano located in Parkville, MO  

This is a very nice Steinway console piano made in the 1940's. I tune and service this piano once a year in Parkville, MO and think it has a beautiful sound. It has real ivory keys that you don't see anymore. Most pianos have plastic key tops now days. Steinway has a reputation for making some of the finest pianos in the world and they haven't let us down with this one. A Steinway deserves to be tuned by a Registered Piano Technician.

Durand Piano Service in Parkville, MO
(816) 587-9970

Piano Tuning in a High School Auditorium

Yamaha C6 grand at Platte City High School

I tuned this piano at the Platte City, MO High School. It is a nice Yamaha C6 grand piano and holds a great tune. I went to High School at Platte City and it's nice to see they have this new auditorium. It holds 300 people and has the acoustics modified for the best sound. They also have a new vocal music room that was built last year. The tuning was done for an up coming vocal music concert by a Registered Piano Technician.

Durand Piano Service in Platte City, MO
(816) 587-9970

New or Used Piano Buying Tips

Yamaha console piano tuned and serviced in Platte City, MO

I'm sure your piano playing friends would be glad helping you choose by asking what brands of pianos they like the best. My choice would be a Yamaha or Kawai new or used piano because they hold tune so well. Servicing is a breeze when parts are so easy to get from the manufacturer. Doing a little homework on different brands of pianos will help you make good decisions. I am a registered member of The Piano Technicians Guild and can give good advice on piano buying. Calling a local piano dealer in Kansas City would be a good choice when looking for a new or used piano. A piano salesman can be very friendly when they see dollar signs floating in the sky. If you don't have the bucks the piano dealer seems to have better things to do.

When buying a new or used piano it would be best to get a name brand just in case the student decides piano is not there forte. The resale value of a name brand piano would sell much faster and you would probably get all your money back out of the instrument. Be sure to have a Registered Piano Technician and not your average piano tuner do an inspection before you buy a secondhand piano. A used piano doesn't come with a warranty so you can't take it back later on. The cost of a piano tuning is very affordable and it would be my pleasure to ensure your investment is a secure one.

Some people think they should buy the biggest piano they can afford for the biggest sound. This might be true but you need to figure out what your needs are to know what quality piano to buy. Your favorite music will be very appreciated on a nice piano and will encourage the piano player to reach for a higher goal. If your not sure if you will be sticking with the piano then you should keep things simple. For the beginner a nice console piano can do just fine and will be much cheaper than a grand piano.

The popular black grand piano will give a beautiful romantic setting in a lot of different sized rooms. The appearance of a piano is important to match the furniture in your house. Be sure to contact a professional piano tuner after buying to keep your instrument in proper working order and to ensure great piano enjoyment. Always hire professional piano movers so you don't damage the piano going through doorways.

New or Used Piano Buying Tips for Kansas City MO
(816) 587-9970

Piano Tuning Cost

Baldwin spinet piano tuned and serviced once a year in Gladstone, MO

The cost of a piano tuning once a year is worth the investment to keep your instrument in proper working order. Considering you paid a lot of money for your piano from a local piano dealer you should tune it on a regular basis of once to twice a year. Your in home concerts will be remembered by everyone if the piano has a great tuning put on it by a professional piano tuner.

There are lots of things that will need to be serviced inside the piano including tuning and regulation. Debris can fall inside and can cause parts to break so be sure to have your piano cleaned every so often to keep this from happening. Mice could get inside your piano that could completely ruin the action and make all playing parts useless. The cost to repair this problem could be enormous so you might as well toss it out for junk. I don't like tuning pianos that have had mice damage and will pass this work on to the next piano tuner.

Humidity can change a lot in Kansas City, MO so as to fluctuate the pitch of the piano up and down. A humidity control system can be installed that would need to be serviced with new pads for the water tank. The humidity system will help keep your piano at a standard pitch of A-440 with less fluctuation.

If you want to know the cost of piano tuning and repair you will need to give me a call for an estimate. I can give discounts to seniors, Churches and Institutions. All work is guaranteed by a Registered Piano Technician member of The Piano Technicians Guild.

Piano Tuning Cost for Kansas City MO
(816) 587-9970

Acoustic Piano vs. Digital Piano

Chickering console piano located in Liberty, MO

Kimball grand piano located in Smithville, MO

The soundboard resonance and the effect of the damper pedal still hasn't been duplicated on digital pianos. The good news is you don't have to tune a digital piano but the bad news it doesn't sound as good as a freshly tuned acoustic piano. You don't have to call a piano tuner or the piano movers every time you want to move it to a different room but why the heck would you want to move it anyways.

Piano teachers would rather the student have an acoustic piano at home and they will push the student towards getting rid of the toy to having the real thing. Most piano students will lose interest very quickly on a digital piano from lack of sound quality. Even with an elaborate sound system the interest goes away very quickly. My advice would be to buy an acoustic piano and call a certified piano tuner twice a year to service it. You will have much more enjoyment playing the real thing and piano tuning cost is not that much.

There's been a lot of advancement over the last ten years in multi sampled pianos. The sampled pianos have been sampled at different velocities from soft to loud sometimes up to ten velocities. This is impressive to sample a very expensive $125,000 concert grand at 10 velocities down stroke, 10 release velocities and sample the soundboard resonance of the damper pedal. It looks good on paper and sounds nice on a recording but when you sit down to play the digital piano there is a lot missing.

Physical modelling is the next generation of digital pianos and the advantage is it will use less computer resources. The hard drive and ram space is almost none but will require a faster CPU. Up to 127 different velocities per note can be used and the same with release velocities and soundboard resonance. It doesn't have as good of an attack as the sampled piano and tends to sound boring to play. I can't stand to play a physical modeled piano for more than 15 minutes.

The problem with playing a computer generated piano is the delay or latency from the time you play the note to when the note actually starts. With a good sound card and a fast computer you can get this down to 4 to 8 milliseconds but it still drives you crazy. I want the sound to start immediately for my creativity to set in. Buying a Yamaha acoustic piano and calling a piano tuner twice a year will give you all the musical enjoyment you will ever need.

Acoustic Piano Service for Kansas City MO
(816) 587-9970

Piano Technicians Guild

Piano Tuning in Rural America

Ivers and Pond Old Upright Piano to be restored in Kansas City, MO

There are many antique pianos to found in rural America. They range from old Victorian uprights to square grands made in the 1800's. Most of these pianos need to be restored before they are playable. The standard pitch at the time was a lower pitch and not A-440 so string breakage would be a big problem.

I receive calls every week to look at old upright pianos and tell them what it is worth. Most of the time I tell the customer to junk the old thing and go talk to the local piano dealers. I know the woodwork looks great and the carvings on the front are beautiful but what's on the inside. People tell me the swivel stool is worth more than the piano. Many have old ivory key tops that are falling off and need to be replaced with something that won't chip and look ugly. There was a lot of these pianos made at the turn of the century but the only thing there good for is furniture or firewood. Most can be found on craigslist under free piano you move but be aware that lots of them don't even have wheels. Piano tuning is my passion but I need to pass on this junk.

One thing to consider when looking at the old clunker is how heavy it is. If your going to move the piano yourself you will need some big guys. The piano could weigh between 400 to 1000 lbs and you will lose your best friends if you ask them to help. Professional piano movers don't like to move them especially if stairs are involved. Be sure to use lots of blankets for padding if you decide to move the piano yourself.

My advise would be to contact local piano stores and buy a new or used piano. They have a wide selection of pianos in a price range you can afford. Most of the local piano dealers offer piano lessons by experienced well trained piano teachers. The cost of piano tuning and service would be much less on a newer instrument.

Schmitt Music
Meyer Music
The Toon Shop

Piano Tuner in Kansas City, MO
(816) 587-9970


Piano Technicians Guild

Piano Tuning for Schools and Churches

School and Church pianos need to be tuned twice a year in Kansas City, MO

Schools and Churches in Kansas City need special attention to the tuning of there pianos. Most Churches will keep the heat and air conditioning turned back to save energy. I recommend Schools and Churches to have there pianos tuned and serviced twice a year. A humidity system would help the piano tuning last longer.

A regular maintenance schedule by a Registered Piano Technician would ensure your piano plays it's best all the time.Tightening of screws and light regulation of the action parts should be done once every two years. Paper clips, pencils and other debris can fall inside of a grand piano so regular cleaning needs to be done. Debris can cause actions parts to not work properly and even cause them to break. The cost of a piano tuning visit will be determined on the amount of repair needed.

Piano Tuning Kansas City
(816) 587-9970


Piano Technicians Guild

Piano Movers

Everett Old Upright piano to be moved in Kansas City, MO

The piano will need to be tuned and serviced once it arrives at it's destination by a Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild. The cost of piano tuning is determined by the condition of the piano and repairs needed to be done. Visit my web site to contact Daryl Durand, RPT a piano tuner in Kansas City, MO for information on local piano movers.

To find a piano mover you should call your local piano stores, piano technicians or piano teachers to find out who they recommend for piano moving. Before you hire a piano mover you should ask how much experience they have because not all piano movers are equal and you don't want to damage your valuable instrument. They will need to use the best moving equipment including correct padding and dollies to move your piano.
 

Your piano needs to be kept away from large windows where direct sunlight could hit it and also away from heater vents. Hard wood floors will cause a piano to sound too loud and bright. I prefer a piano to be placed on carpet rather than a hard wood floor to give a more pleasing sound.

Arbuckle Music - If your looking for a piano mover in Kansas City, MO or Liberty, MO call Roger Arbuckle. Roger has all the right moving equipment and will do a good job.

Precision Piano Movers - is well known in the Kansas City area for doing good work and great care is taken with your valuable instrument.

Gerber Moving - A well established piano moving company in Kansas City

Piano Movers Kansas City - Specializing in moving pianos of all types.

Piano Mover Network - A large directory of piano movers listed by State.

Durand Piano Tuning in Kansas City MO

(816) 587-9970

Piano Technicians Guild

Russian Grand Piano

Russian grand piano in Parkville, MO

A beautiful grand piano tuned and serviced in Parkville, MO

Here is a piano you don't see everyday. It is a piano made in Russia shortly after World War II and later brought to the United States. You might notice it has half an octave missing in the high treble where the last note is E7. The piano is located in Parkville, MO where I did a pedal lyre repair and works good now. It has a matching piano stool with claw feet. I tune this piano every six months and would recommend a piano tuning twice a year to all my customers. The price of a piano tuning will keep your investment in excellent working condition and make it more enjoyable.

Durand Piano Tuning and Repair Service in Kansas City MO
(816) 587-9970


Piano Technicians Guild

Piano With Loose Tuning Pins

Old grand piano with loose tuning pins in Olathe, KS

I tuned an old grand piano in Olathe, KS that had loose tuning pins in the bass section. Most piano tuners would have said the piano was junk and not tunable. I applied a repair solution to make the pins hold better. It tuned up great and the customer said it hasn't sounded that good since she bought it used 30 years ago. A piano tuner has saved this one from the bone yards and another old piano has come back to life. The cost to tune and repair this piano is a lot lower than it used to be.


Piano Tuning and Repair Service
(816) 587-9970


Piano Technicians Guild