MUSSELWHITE PIANO SERVICES
We service pianos in all areas of Calgary and most of the surrounding area. Additional charges for time and mileage may apply outside of the city limits. Please ask about the rates if you are out of the Calgary area. Although we work on many different kinds of pianos, concert service is our specialty.
Appointments must be made directly on this www site using our Gazelle System. Press HERE to make an appointment. For your convenience, we accept payment by Cheque, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), VISA and MasterCard.
You can now order (and send) gift cards for piano tuning or services for your family and friends direct from our site! Please click HERE to send a gift card.
As the question does come up at times, I do not smoke, I don’t use any scents such as after shave or colognes, I have no allergies and I love dogs, cats and other pets!
STANDARD TUNING
All case parts removed from the piano are placed on a padded blanket. Minor pitch corrections are performed first, then the piano is meticulously tuned in equal or an historical temperament to the concert pitch of A-440 unless otherwise requested. A standard tuning is recommended at least every 6 months for the average home piano at a cost of $175 plus GST. Many conscientious piano owners will schedule a standard tuning three or more times a year to keep it in excellent tune. Small repairs and minor regulation problems on uprights are often corrected at no extra charge. Grand piano repairs and minor regulation carries an extra charge of $25 for each 15 minutes due to the additional complexity or a grand action. A $10 discount on a tuning is applied on additional pianos at the same location.
Due to the higher than anticipated fuel prices, a slight extra charge may be incurred for pianos tuned outside the Calgary City limits. This includes Cochrane, Strathmore and any location more than 20 kms from the city limits.
When a piano has not been tuned often enough, has been moved or is subject to extreme temperature and humidity changes, a pitch correction may be required before a fine tuning can be performed. This is absolutely required if the piano is more than an average of 8 cents (8/100ths of a semitone) flat or sharp. Pitch corrections add $50 (plus GST) to the cost of a regular tuning and take an extra 1/2 hour to perform.
The PTG has an excellent service bulletin on pitch correction and other topics that can be viewed by following this link.
One thing to note about piano tunings is that they are NOT “guaranteed” the way that repairs and regulation are. Due to the enormous tension of the strings being supported by a relatively thin piece of wood (the soundboard), piano tunings are inherently unstable and cannot be guaranteed. Simply letting a draft blow on the piano from an open window, door or heat/air conditioning vent, letting sunlight hit it, changing the humidity near the piano by placing water near it or changing the humidifier controls in your home can cause a tuning to drift slightly in a very short time. Pianos that have had a pitch correction applied to them are also unstable. This is why concert pianos are always tuned just before a concert. The heat from the lights and the humidity generated by people in the audience change the tuning slightly. If your piano tuning has drifted a bit after a tuning it isn’t the tuner’s fault, but rather the instrument and its environment and that cannot be guaranteed.
THE COMPLETE SERVICE CALL (Full Service)
This service, usually about three hours long, is recommended for pianos that not only need a large pitch correction and tuning, but that may also need cleaning and minor repairs and also need attention paid to minor regulation problems. This type of service is recommended for pianos that have not been serviced for more than a few years as well as performance pianos. A Complete Service call is $450 plus GST.
KEEPING YOUR PIANO IN TUNE
Your piano’s strings are under a tension of about forty thousand pounds (over 20 tonnes!), all supported by an iron frame and the thin wooden soundboard. To keep your piano sounding as good as it can, most manufacturers recommend at least two tunings per year. A piano that that has been neglected is often very sharp or flat (more than 10%) and requires at least two tunings (performed in one visit) to stabilize it, with regular tunings afterwards to keep it in top shape. The first tuning equalizes the tension, allowing a fine tuning afterwards. A pitch correction followed by as fine a tuning as possible is available at $215 plus GST.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
KEEPING IT REGULATED
Regulation involves making careful adjustments to the action and keys, dampers and pedal systems to compensate for the effects of wear and humidity changes on your piano. Proper regulation focuses on making the action repeat quickly and play as evenly as possible throughout the entire scale of the piano. The cost of regulation varies with the amount needed and is billed at an hourly rate in most instances. Some minor regulation is included with a basic tuning.
VOICING
Voicing is the process of adjusting the tone of a piano by working with the hammers and strings. Voicing may include filing and reshaping the hammers to remove the string grooves, and may include using needles on the hammer felts, or the use of a hardening or softening solution on the hammers. Minor voicing is often performed after basic tuning at no charge.
REPAIRS/RECONDITIONING
Repair work is performed by a third-generation craftsman, with a guarantee on all repairs. The highest quality parts are used when their replacement is indicated. Some of the most common repairs made are cleaning the inside, key bushing replacement to correct “sloppy” keys and replacing the hammers with custom-made replacements suitable for your piano. The cost varies with each instrument.
REBUILDING/RESTORATION/REFINISHING
We offer specialized referrals for refinishing work as well as referrals for complete restoration or re-manufacture. See below for our refinishing partner.
ESTIMATES & APPRAISALS
After a thorough evaluation, we can appraise the approximate value of your piano and give you a complete estimate of the cost to regulate or recondition your instrument.
PIANO LIFE-SAVER SYSTEMS
We can supply and install the famous Piano Life Saver Systems by Dampp-Chaser in almost any piano. These systems help stabilize your piano and prevent future climate-control problems. See the Piano Life Saver section of this web site for more information
CONSULTING SERVICES
We consult on the purchase and sale of new and used pianos and would be happy to assist you in choosing your next piano. As an independent piano technician, I will recommend the piano that is right for you, not right for a dealer.
OUR SERVICE PARTNERS
PIANO MOVING – RPM Piano Moving. Call Kyle at 403-828-1722 rpmpianomoving@shaw.ca www.rpmpianomoving.com
REFINISHING – Gordon Moffatt. 403-249-9750 http://gordmoffattpianos.com/
RECORDING SERVICES – OCL Recording Studios. www.oclstudios.com
BACKLINE, STAGING and PRODUCTION – FM Systems. www.fmsystems.net
Last edited June 11, 2022