Liability Insurance... A Big Deal!

When looking for a piano tuner in Denver one of the important (yet often overlooked) elements is to make sure that the company is insured. While tuning a piano is not a dangerous task (unless you break a string), there are a lot of things that can go wrong when you have someone into your home.

On top of the risk posed to your piano there are many other things that could go wrong.
You could have an antique lamp that they might knock over, your child might step on their tools and injure his/her foot, etc. Making sure that your piano tuning company is well insured in case of injury, damage to the piano or other property is imperative!

You may be surprised to learn that many piano tuning, repair and even moving companies or individuals in Denver don't carry insurance at all! For most, the piano tuning business is a simple hobby that they picked up to make some extra cash.

At Lanier Piano Co. we treat our business like a business and therefore have the protection that you need against these potentially expensive and unforeseen accidents.

Piano Repair

Besides basic piano tuning, which should be done every 6 months to a year. Occasionally a piano needs other repairs done on it.

These types of repairs could be one of the following:

Broken keys/notes - Broken or non-functioning keys can sometimes be a simple matter of adjustment to repair or could possibly need some replacement parts installed to make them function properly... Either way, you are looking at a nominal fee to get your piano working properly.

Loose Tuning Pins - Occasionally an older piano's tuning pins become loose (these are the pins that the strings are wound around on one end of the piano). There are several ways that tuning pins can be repaired depending on the severity of the looseness. In most cases a pianos tuning pins can be tightened enough to allow for a proper tuning but in some cases the tuning pins may have to be all together replaced. If you have a piano with loose tuning pins, give us a call, we would be happy to provide a free consultation or second opinion on your pianos ability to hold a tune.

"Twangy" or "Tinny" Sounding Strings - This old "saloon" type of sound can be fixed! Most pianos can be brought back to their original and more mellow sound quality for around $200. There are two processes that need to be used most of the time; the first is to"reshape" the hammer head (the part that strikes the strings on the inside), this involves sanding down each hammer back to its original, more pointed shape. The second is to "voice" the hammer heads, this involves a tool that actually punctures the hammer head to effectively "aerate" the compacted felt making the hammer softer. The combination of a properly shaped and softened hammer makes a more mellow and soothing tone quality!

DenverPianoTuners.com and Lanier Piano Co. handle all of these repairs and more. If you have any questions or need further insight into what your piano needs in order to be brought into a better playing and sounding instrument, give us a call: 720.278.8672 or visit us on the web at www.DenverPianoTuners.com

Cost of Tuning a Piano / We Take Credit!

We know that sometimes cash can be hard to come up with, especially during the holiday season when there are presents to buy and families coming in town to cook feasts for! But don't let stop you from having a properly tuned piano.

To ease your burden through the holidays Denver Piano Tuners now accepts all major credit cards.

You can now get you piano sounding and playing beautifully for between $85 and $125 in most cases.

Call today and start enjoying the sound of a well tuned piano playing all of your holiday favorites!

The Holiday Season

The Holidays are upon us. The next few months will be filled with joy as many of us will be gathering with family and friends that we may not have seen in a long time!

Many of us will be able to enjoy hours around the piano, playing and singing our favorite songs... that is, if your piano is properly tuned!

Don't get caught off guard by an out of tune piano, call or email Denver Piano Tuners today to schedule your piano tuning by a professional expert piano tuner before the family comes into town!

Denver Piano Tuner... Why We're Different

With Denver Piano Tuners and Josh Lanier you not only get the combined experience if over 40 years of fine piano tuning and repair you will also experience quality business practices, customer service and workmanship guarantees second to none!

We take our business seriously!

Denver Piano Tuners is 100% committed to serving you with the excellence that you deserve and since this business is not "just a hobby" (like most "piano tuners" out there), you can rest assured that you will be treated in such a way as to earn your business and trust for years to come!

Piano Tuning Video

Tuning A Piano By Ear

It has recently come to my attention that most piano tuners, yes even the ones that consider themselves "professionals", tune pianos with electronic piano tuning devices. This may be a viable option for some but the reality stands that a piano tuned with a tuning device cannot sound as good as a piano tuned by ear.

When a piano is tuned by a trained human ear, the tuner can take into account not only the "pitch" of the piano but also the overall acoustics of the instrument and the acoustics of the room/environment that the piano is in.

Denver Piano Tuners and Josh Lanier always tune by ear. Typically we begin by using a device for the 1st few notes just to make doubly sure that the piano is being tuned to proper A440 pitch and then from there we tune the rest of the piano by ear. This ensures the best possible tone and vibrancy of the sound board and strings.

All of this to say, make sure that your piano is tuned by ear if you want the best possible sound from your instrument as you play.

"A properly tuned piano resonates with the soul"

Piano Moving

So you want to move your piano? Moving a piano can be a daunting task if one has never done it before or simply doesn't know what they are doing. Piano moving, done improperly, is also very dangerous! Imagine what would happen if the piano tipped over and landed on your cousin or brother-in-law!

Once again, we are brought to the fact that piano moving is best left to the professionals. Moving pianos has a lot more to do with technique, skills and proper equipment than it does with brute force.

Just because you have a trailer and can amass a few of your big strong friends to help you doesn't mean that you should go it yourself.

Denver Piano Tuners charges a flat rate of $250 ($350 for grand pianos) for a local move with no more than 3 stairs involved... money well spent to avoid a costly and unfortunate accident. For out of town piano moving quotes please call or email us and we will be happy to help.

Long story short, call a professional piano moving company and save yourself time, money, energy and stress.

Proper piano maintenance

Proper piano maintenance is a must if you want your piano to stay in great shape and be playable for years to come. Though it most likely sits in a corner of your living room and seems to be self sustaining, it is not.

Here are a few basic elements of piano care:

1. Clean it regularly to ensure that the case stays in beautiful like new condition. A light furniture polish, such as Old English, every couple of months will do wonders to keep your piano looking its best! Just be sure not to over soak it, use a damp (barley moist) cloth to dust it and then rub it down with a light coat of polish.

2. On occasion you may be inclined to vacuum/dust out the inside (especially if yours is a grand piano) . This will not only help it to look better and keep all that dust from escaping into your home but will also help to keep the strings in good shape. *Never get the strings/wires wet! This will cause severe damage if they begin to rust of corrode because of the moisture on them.

3. Have your piano tuned at the turn of the seasons. The most prevalent reason that pianos travel out of tune is a change in temperature and humidity. These two factors cause the wood and metal in the piano to contract and expand and in turn created varying amounts of tension on the strings which causes it to sound "out of tune" and may even cause a pitch change if not caught and remedied soon.

Been a while since your last piano tuning?

If you answered yes, than your piano may require a "pitch raise" tuning. Most major piano manufacturers suggest that their pianos be tuned at least twice a year (every 6 months) and if you play hard or frequently maybe even more often.

the long and the short of it is that if your piano hasn't been tuned in a few years it may need a pitch raise. This type of tuning is required due to the piano strings/wires loosing tension after a while and therefore dropping off of proper A440 pitch.

A pitch raise tuning involves tightening each string and bringing it back to the proper tension. The reason that it is so important for your piano to stay at proper pitch is that there are certain "tension dependent" portions of your piano (such as the sound board, harp and even the case to a degree). These elements require that a certain tension be placed on them in order for them to stay as the manufacturers intended.

I have actually seen piano sound boards crack due to uneven and improper tension amounts being placed on the strings! This makes for a very expensive repair but is easily avoided!

The best bet is to have your piano tuned by a professional at least twice a year whether it is played or not. This ensures that your piano will stay in great shape for generations to come!