Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum how to find a great piano tuner/technician

I hope this is the correct forum to ask this question as it seemed appropriate to place it in this category. Can you please tell me the best way to fine a great piano tuner/technician and what questions I should ask as to their credibility. Do you ask for references? Thank you so much.

Ask everyone you know who owns a piano for their recommendations. Call the local dealerships and ask them to recommend a tuner. Check with the music director at your church, etc. Then call the one that sounds best to you and give him or her a try. That's what I did, and I am very pleased with the tech I selected as a result. Or you can check the PTG website and see if there is a member in your area. There was an associate member in my area, but he has since moved away. The tech I selected is not a PTG member, but he is a fine technician with over 40 years experience.

Thanks for your suggestions!!!

I get a certain number of calls that start (and potentially end) like this: "How much does it cost to get a piano tuned?"
I realize the client is going through the yellow pages, looking for the best "deal".
I proceed to tell him or her about my training, my experience, how I tune (aurally) and who/what I tune for (teachers, musicians, concerts, festivals etc). I also tell them that there are tuners who cannot do repairs and service work properly.
I encourage them to go on looking if they feel so inclined, and I tell them to ask the questions that I just answered. I also make them aware that $10 in percieved savings can actually be $100 in wasted money.
If you think about it, there is no way you can expect the best service in the low end of the cost scale. This applies to almost every service.

If you live where I live... It is pretty impossible.

Being on the East Coast. Rhode Island, I would think you would not have as big of a problem finding someone accomplished. Get recomendations and like Supply says, you may have to pay a bit more for good work.

But be careful, don't just go with who is most expensive. I know of a tech who is not very good (to say the least) and he charges the most, I guess thinking that will make people think he's great or the fact that he has worked on some concert pianos justifies it. But this is just my experience and it's probably rare.

Really, I'm just starting to think that I am a mere few in my town that knows how well a piano can truly perform when you have an excellent tech working on it.

What pianobuff says is true. There are the occasional instances in a market wherein a few piano techs are in a donnybrook to see who can charge the most – all trying to secure the upscale niche in the market for themselves. It's all about perception. Certain consumers (usually upper income) believe that a service is not good if it is priced low, and so they'll go for the most expensive.

What does this really mean?

There may be other techs in the area equally (perhaps even more) qualified, who charge less. Follow the advise given by the techs above, and you may come out better.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!!

A couple o' other ideas: If you've got a local symphony call the center and find out who they use. Or call your nearest college's music school and see who tunes all their pianos. Or search the PW directory by state and send some PMs to members in Rhode Island asking for referrals.

Supply has more tolerance than me. When I get calls from yellow page shoppers they sometimes get a referral elsewhere.
Your piano should stay in tune for quit a bit longer than two weeks. It should take much more than 20 minutes to tune your piano.
Any needed repair work should be done quickly and efficiently.
Today - stuck keys on a Sotry and Clark console - client left me alone for that and the tuning - it was about one minute to remove the pencil that caused the problem and two more to re-seat a few hammer return springs. No charge - an unscurpulous tech could easily take advantage - look for integrity.
Look for techs that take a genuine interest in your piano as well as your personal needs and desires for the piano - someone who will listen.
Someone who can translate your needs and desires into your piano.

There is a very fine technician in your area I would most highly recommend: Jon Page in Harwich Port, MA. He does really great tunings and is a full scale rebuilder and restorer of pianos. You couldn't do better. If you need a phone number, please e-mail me privately at Billbrpt@aol.com.

JHF,
There is a good tuner in the Newport area, last name is Brown. I knew his father, Larry Brown, also a tuner, as we were both in the Navy Band in Newport in the 70's. I can't remember the son's first name, but I've heard good things about him.
Dave Forman

Hi wcctuner,

You are the second person to recommend Larry Brown to me. I am going to see if I can find his number. I appreciate the suggestion.

Cheers