Joshua Switzer-Crowe
The Edmonton Piano Tuner
Piano appraisals and pre-purchase inspections are $350 within our service area.
Pre-Purchase inspections are critical when buying a used piano!! Pianos are expensive, cumbersome instruments. You will be spending a lot of money to have them moved into your home, so please have it inspected BEFORE you invest. Restoring an old piano to working condition can cost THOUSANDS of dollars..... There is no such thing as a free piano!! Please call me before making any purchases!
You will also learn a lot about what to look for in a piano by having us inspect it for you! You will be there during the inspection and I will teach you exactly what I am looking for. So even if you don't end up buying it, you will be educated enough to identify a good deal when you see one!
All prices shown will have GST added to the invoice.
Payment by Cheque, Cash, Interac (debit), Email Money Transfer, Bitcoin, Litecoin
All other services are billed at $140 per hour, if completed at a tuning appointment.
If a tuning is not required the minimum charge is $140, plus the hourly rate after the first 30 minutes.
For pianos tuned by Joshua, 12 months ago, within 8 cents of standard pitch.
Piano tunings on instruments which are well maintained, and roughly at pitch, take about an hour. Pianos that are not well maintained or just plain challenging to tune may take longer than two hours.... (see "Pitch Corrections" below).
Pitch corrections are required when the piano is significantly out of tune. They involve tuning the piano multiple times in one visit in order to stabilize the piano at the proper pitch of A=440hz. Regular tunings once per year, or more depending on your requirements, will eliminate the need for this service, and give you a more stable tuning year round. The more out of tune the piano, the more times we have to tune the piano, and the more I must charge. This service includes tuning the piano several times in ONE SITTING. As long as the piano is structurally sound, it will be at concert pitch A=440, and sounding great, when I leave. Please allow 2 hours for this service.
During this service I will remove the action and keys from your upright piano... and completely vacuum the interior of the cabinet and underneath the keys. While the action is out of the piano, I will tighten all the screws which hold it together. This should be done every 10 years or so. The piano will be at A=440 and finely tuned when complete. Tightening screws keeps the mechanical action working quietly... it prevents a lot of extraneous noises and can improve the feel of the keys. Expect 2.5 hours for this service.
This service is the same as the upright one, but includes dusting the soundboard, underneath the strings, and is considerably more back-breaking! A clean soundboard is well worth the cost though! Expect 3 hours for this service.
Shaping and voicing the piano's hammers can make AMAZING differences to the tone, responsiveness, and expressiveness of the piano. This service is sold by the hour... a typical upright may take 1.5 hours which would be $150... Grand pianos can take much longer. Depending on the wear on the hammers, the piano may only need a quick voicing, and the cost will be reduced accordingly.
Regulation, is making the mechanical adjustments necessary to maintain the correct alignment of all the various pieces of each key as they wear over the years. The keyboard is the foundation of the regulation, all keys must be level to one another, the depth precisely the same. All other mechanical pieces are then adjusted from there, including lost motion, let-off, blow distance, damper lift, etc. These services can be booked by request, and may be recommended by Joshua at your tuning appointment.
Tunings outside of our regular service area will be charged 75 cents per kilometre, round trip, starting and ending at the Anthony Henday.
At each tuning Joshua will not only tune the piano, he will also check the pedals for correct functioning, and adjust if necessary. Joshua will also check the bench legs for tightness and adjust if necessary. Repairs taking less than ten minutes are included with a tuning, such as removing pencils from the pianos' interior. Joshua will also check the regulation of the piano and advise the customer if more serious maintenance is required. If requested, Joshua can provide the approximate date of manufacture of the piano, and its present market value (verbally).
Copyright 2018. Joshua Switzer-Crowe. All Rights Reserved.