CHOOSING A PIANO TECHNICIAN
This is perhaps the most important
decision you make in your life with your piano--a
gifted, experienced, honest, reliable technician has the
power to exponentially enhance the beauty of your
instrument, your enjoyment of it, and gratitude for it.
I can't stress this enough. There is usually one, and
perhaps a handful (in big cities) of tuner-technicians
who are perceived as "the guys:" great tuners who
can also provide complete mechanical and voicing
services; who can rebuild & restore, or are
allied with the best rebuilder/restorer in the area, in
the area, who can be relied on to "do the right thing,"
in the right time, within budget, and make the piano
sound and feel a whole lot better than it did when they
came upon it.
"non-gender-specific use of the
word, as in walking into a roomful of men and women and
saying, "How're you guys doing?"
This person will almost always come
to you through a personal referral, and they will
have an extremely busy practice, servicing some of the
best pianos in the area---professional musicians,
full time music teachers, well-off people with great
grand pianos, concert venues, recording studios. a
largely high-end practice, especially if you both live
in a city. This person will likely have done work for
the dealer in your area that is perceived as the
"good" guy, the honest guy, the store that deals with
quality pianos and quality service: the
"mensch" dealer.
This wizard of a piano tech will
willingly provide you with profuse references,
but don't waste your time---trust the person who
referred them to you, watch them work for a few
minutes, ask them some questions, and you'll be
thanking your lucky stars that you found this person,
because
---they will tell you and
show you the truth about the condition of
your piano as they find it
---they will be really nice,
interesting as a person, and totally professional in
their approach to your instrument.
---they will offer complete piano
service rather than just "tuning and leaving."
---if you trust them, your piano
will sound and feel better than it ever has.
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