RoughCollie Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 The house we rented has a piano in it. The landlord will remove it, if we want him to. I don't know anything about it except that it is an old upright, according to DH. I'm tempted to eventually have it tuned so the kids can take piano lessons, if we can afford it. Does that cost much? Thanks, RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I'm not much help - had a neighbor who was learning how to tune pianos and he did our old upright for a homemade pie. Some uprights (ours proved to be one of them) was not able to hold the tune for long, and was not worth the cost of tuning it (beyond a pie). Depends on how old the piano is, was it a quality instrument to begin with, or just a "beater'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in NC Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Ten years ago, we paid $90 to have ours tuned. Last year, we paid $90 to have it cleaned (it didn't need tuning). If an instrument is grossly out of tune, it can take more than one visit, and it would cost more. We've had our piano for 27 years and we've moved it 7 times, and tuned it about 4 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 and it depends on how old the piano is, how out of tune it is, the condition of the hammers/felts/strings, and myriad other factors. Sometimes it not worth the money to tune a piano if the "innards" require replacement. However, the age of the piano doesn't always affect how much tuning will cost. Another big factor is the relative humidity and temperature of the building. This plays into how long the piano will hold a tune and also the effort involved in getting the thing in tune in the first place. You want low humidity and stable, "normal" temps (i.e. 70's). You could always call a tuner or two and ask for an estimate. If you're lucky enough to live near a college/university with a school of music, you could call someone on the piano faculty for recommendations. Also, if the piano is truly old you might consider calling a piano restorer (sorry, I don't remember if that's what they're actually called - my brain hasn't fully engaged yet). They can generally both fix and tune older pianos. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicmommy Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I pay $85.00 a visit from my piano tuner. I do have him come twice a year because the piano gets played so much. It's a newer piano that holds it's tuning pretty well, but it drives me batty when it's even slightly out. He also has done some minor adjustments on the piano without any extra charges. If it's really out of tune, then it may take 3 or 4 visits to fully adjust the strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncmomo3 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 We paid $100. a year ago. Worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 Thank you very much. I guess I'd better wait until I get there to look at the piano and try to find out more about it. The landlord left many pieces of furniture there that he calls "antiques" and DH calls "junk", so the piano may very well be in the junk category and have to be removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 The house we rented has a piano in it. The landlord will remove it, if we want him to. I don't know anything about it except that it is an old upright, according to DH. I'm tempted to eventually have it tuned so the kids can take piano lessons, if we can afford it. Does that cost much? Thanks, RC Around here, a basic tuning costs $85. If it's been sitting a long time, and it is terribly out of tune, it might not hold it's tune at first, and may need multiple tunings to stay in tune. If it needs additional work, it will cost more. You can probably get an estimate of some sort. The tuner can tell if he/she thinks it has serious problems (warped sound board, loose pins, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ame E. Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 This is in central MA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Considerably more here. Obviously just depends on the area :glare: :-) :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalanceSeeker Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Anyone know if it is possible to un-stick keys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 It's a little over $100 here. I get ours tuned every 6 - 8 months or so, depending on the state of our checking account. If it's very old and hasn't been used, you might want to call around to find a tuner to come look at it first, to see if it's worth tuning. Our tuner gives us a little commercial every time he comes out, about how awesome our 100 year old behemoth is, and what a shame it is when he's called out to tune junkers from the Goodwill that are only useful as firewood. A tuner probably won't charge much for a look-see. Ours did it for free, but I know the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 It's a little over $100 here. I get ours tuned every 6 - 8 months or so, depending on the state of our checking account. If it's very old and hasn't been used, you might want to call around to find a tuner to come look at it first, to see if it's worth tuning. Our tuner gives us a little commercial every time he comes out, about how awesome our 100 year old behemoth is, and what a shame it is when he's called out to tune junkers from the Goodwill that are only useful as firewood. A tuner probably won't charge much for a look-see. Ours did it for free, but I know the guy. nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Less than $100 here too. Our tuner gives us a coupon, to use within one year for $15 off, to give an incentive to have him out annually (or sooner). He also gives free inspections. We were given one piano. We were not told that it had had water damage from a flood, until it arrived and we could see the water line. The inspector said not to bother with it. The next piano we got, he says is a wonderful instument, worth in excess of $15,000 to replace. It is a very plain looking, upright that sounded terrible before it was tuned. They looked almost identical, (infact the junk piano was nicer looking) so there is almost no way I could have told them apart until he told me the quality difference. I agree with having it looked at. You could have junk or a gem in the rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommylawyer Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 We have ours tuned every year - about $100 and SO worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momofeat Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 We have an old upright that a friend of ours restored, and it is a wonderful instrument. We only pay $65 for a tuning here. (East TN) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Wow. I paid over $300 to have our piano tuned a few months ago. Of course, he was here for HOURS - it hadn't been tuned for a few years and is 110 year old concert upright with a few "issues". There was a lot of pounding. Hopefully, it will be a little less expensive going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Hi, this is Flutistmom's husband. If your piano with some stiff keys has not been played for a very long time, you might try just playing it for a few days to see if the keys loosen up. We bought a 100+ year old upright piano a few years ago that had this problem and were able to get it playing again by exercising it in this fashion. It has played fine ever since. If the key(s) get stuck in the down position, it may mean that you have a broken string or two, especially in the treble. The broken strings need to be replaced. This should not be a challenge for any qualified piano tuner. If all of the keys stick, or cannot be depressed very far or at all, you probably have a more serious problem and need to have a professional piano technician look at it. As a renter, I would pay for tuning since this is part of routine maintenance of a piano, but anything more extensive should be the responsibility of the owner. Best wishes, Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Anyone know if it is possible to un-stick keys? It definitely is possible :001_smile:. Unfortunately there are many different things that can cause the keys to stick. It can be very simple to unstick (and thus not too expensive), or it could require major repairs/regulation. So the bottom line is it kind of depends on the situation. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest slopfloppy Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 This is an old thread, but yall seem to know what you are talking about. We have a Charles M. Stief upright from the mid to late 1800's, and I was wondering with its age, if it would be worth the money to get it tuned. I did check the tuning with an electrocromatic tuner, and the majority of the notes are flat, while some are so out its sad. It does have a key that I believe has a broken rod to the hammer, and one of the black keys is broke off. If anyone could help me out with some advice, price ranges, ect. please let me know. Sean North Mississippi area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest orlandopianotuning Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Hi Sean, Stief pianos were built in my hometown back in Baltimore , Md. Downtown Howard Street I believe was there exact location. I would say that at the time they were among the top 5 piano manufacturers. Steinway pianos were more popular but not better built. The broken Action piece and key are fixable for under $100, the greater concern would be the age of the instrument and whether or not it can actually hold a tune. Since the pinblock is older it may not be able to hold the strings at proper tension. Hard to say without seeing the piano. Hope this helps. Sincerely, Steven Malicki http://www.orlandopianotuning.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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