What I do, and what I don’t yet

Tuning

The core of the job. I tune to A440 (or the pitch requested) using both an electronic tuning device and aural checks. The device gets the framework right, the ear settles the unisons and octaves where a machine alone will leave them merely close.

Most pianos take ninety minutes to two hours. If yours has drifted well below pitch, it needs one or more pitch-correction passes first: a rough tuning that brings overall tension up so the fine tuning has something stable to sit on. Skipping that step is why a neglected piano sometimes sounds wrong again within weeks.

In-home repair

The things that go wrong on a piano in regular use, fixed on site:

• Sticking, sluggish, or silent keys
• Broken or weak springs, loose flanges, worn centre pins
• Pedals that squeak, sag, or don’t engage
• Buzzes, rattles, and case noises
• Loose tuning pins and pins that won’t hold
• Bench repairs, key tops, and hardware

Touch & regulation

Regulation is the mechanical side of how a piano feels: key height and depth, let-off, drop, hammer spacing, damper timing. It’s what separates a piano that responds to you from one you have to fight. Most home pianos have never had it done.

I do partial and in-home regulation now: levelling, let-off, spacing, damper adjustment. Full regulations that require the action on a bench come with the shop.

Humidity control

This matters more in Nebraska than most places. Our indoor air runs furnace-dry through the winter and humid through the summer, the soundboard swells and shrinks with it, and the tuning goes along for the ride. It is the single biggest reason a piano here will not hold a tuning.

Most of the time the fix is cheaper than people expect: move the piano off an exterior wall and away from a vent, and put a room humidifier in for the winter. That is genuinely the first thing I will suggest, and for a lot of homes it is the end of it.

Where a room truly cannot be controlled, or the instrument justifies it, an in-piano system such as a Dampp-Chaser is the answer. I hold the installer certification and can fit one, though I will tell you plainly whether I think yours needs it, because these systems only work if someone keeps up with the refilling and the pads, and most home installations quietly stop being maintained.

The full explanation of why Nebraska weather does this →

Evaluation & pre-purchase inspection

Before you buy a used piano (or accept a free one, which is rarely free), it’s worth knowing what you’re taking on. I check the pinblock, soundboard, bridges, strings, action condition, and tuning stability, and give you a written summary with a plain recommendation. This is the cheapest money in the whole business; it routinely saves people from a $2,000 mistake.

Schools, churches & venues

I spent years tuning for North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Concordia College, and the Fargo school system. Institutional work has its own rhythm: tight windows, recital-day turnarounds, instruments that get hard use and need to be right by seven o’clock. I’m comfortable in it and available for regular contracts, event tuning, and concert prep.