Skelley Dan Piano Tuner

Recommendations and reviews from 1 person

• Referral from December 5, 2013
  

  Ben W. asked:

  I'm looking to buy an upright piano. Anyone know what they're doing enough to give me some advice?

  

  Andrew H. replied:

  Depends on what your budget is. A very decent piano with a nice cabinet (referring to the wooden frame of the piano itself) will run you around $1500-$2000, if you purchase from someone reputable. There are, of course, many deals to be had if you search on Craigslist. A couple things to watch out for: make sure all your keys not only function, but work at a consistent rate. You don't want some keys requiring much more force to strike than others. Keys should also reset responsively, without much or any delay once you're done striking. Also make sure that the keys all travel the same amount of distance down. Pay attention to any clicking noises when testing the piano, this could be indicative of loose, squeaky, or even missing springs. Such a click isn't terrible, and can be fixed, but is worth noting. The cabinet itself should also be well taken care of, and can be indicative of the condition that the piano was generally kept in as well. Open up the bottom, asking the owner to vacuum/clean out a bunch of dust wouldn't be unreasonable. Most squeaks and clicks are fixable, and generally aren't a big deal. Even mildly stuck keys aren't too bad, and can be serviced. I'd be more concerned about unreasonably stuck keys, or keys that take a lot of force to strike. Or don't strike at all. Expect to pay about $150-200 for an initial service of your piano, once you've transported it to your home. It wouldn't be a bad idea to establish a relationship with a piano technician as well, once you've purchased a piano. It's nice to know that the same person who is familiar with your piano is working on it. I've had great experience with Dan Skelley (skelleypiano.com, a technician) in Tacoma, and Sherman Clay (shermanclay.com, a piano store downtown) in Seattle. Either of them can also recommend a good piano mover, if you don't feel confident in transporting it yourself. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions! (source: 18 years of piano playing, 7 years of servicing my own piano)

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