What is a typical price for a piano tuning where you are?

Bellyman · 2024-08-11T22:18:07+00:00

I know it is going to vary by location. But I am curious as to what a typical piano tuning costs where you are? OK, I have something in mind. Have been deb...

PatG

Rural Western Montana $145 for one hour tuning, I think one pass. I make sure there are others to be tuned in the area so I don't pay a lot more for mileage.

mivaldes

I just paid $175 south of Atlanta which included a little regulation work as well. I always give a healthy tip on top of that. I really appreciate the great job my tuner does.

PianoDad

I'm in southeastern VA. Mine are usually in the $150 or so range.

ShiroKuro

My last tuning was $150, this included some light voicing (which added to the total time) so I think he charges $120 for just a regular tuning. This gentleman actually lives in my neighborhood, before he retired, he was the head tuner for the music school at my uni (where they have over 500 pianos!)

I don’t remember how long it took him, but I remember thinking that he was on the fast side (not surprising given his experience taking care of the pianos at the uni) but his tuning was absolutely wonderful. I had him come back a few weeks ago because it’s been very dry and I was hearing a buzz, so he checked it out and determined it was a hammer, which he needled ever so slightly. I don’t think he was going to charge me for that visit but I gave him $20.

IIRC the guy I didn’t like (Mr. Shimmery Tuning) charged $175. And I in Aug of 2023, my first tuning in this region was by a younger tuner who charged only $100. She was pretty inexperienced so maybe that’s why it was that rate (and I wasn’t happy with her tuning so I didn’t call her again).

As to the other discussion running through this thread, I feel there is definitely a shortage of tuners, and I worry about what’s going to happen in a few years as more and more tuners retire. Hopefully by the time my new tuner retires, the woman I had tune last year will be more experienced (she is now on the tuning staff at the uni, I believe she replaced my new tuner when he retired from the uni, so I’m sure her skills will ramp up quickly taking care of all those pianos!)

But of all the tuners I’ve worked with since returning to the US (about 15 years ago, and I’ve moved a few times, so it’s not a small number of tuners), the majority of them have been retirement age or above and only two were younger.

It seems to me that tuning is a great profession for someone who wants to be their own boss and likes the pairing of artistry and mechanical, hands on work that tuning offers. But I think they will also have to be willing to drive a lot in order to have enough clients to make it work, and there’s probably a lot of uncertainty in terms of consistent paychecks and all of that. So I would imagine that, as the number of piano owners decrease, the cons start to outweigh the pros of the profession. 🙁

Bellyman

ShiroKuro as the number of piano owners decrease, the cons start to outright the pros of the profession.

It's an interesting dynamic. As you say, there is an aging group of tuner/techs and not so many young people getting into that line of work. On the other hand, digital pianos (which don't need a tuner, rarely need a tech) are now over half of the piano market according to someone I'm acquainted with at a significantly sized piano store.

I tuned, repaired, rebuilt, for decades. Heck, I've replaced soundboards, built bridges, built and fit pinblocks, restrung, rebuilt actions, regulated, voiced, dabbled a bit in refinishing but that wasn't my thing. But at this point in life... I own a digital. Actually, I have three of them. Two of them aren't terribly special as far as actions. One is quite nice and I'd have to spend $30k to $50k to get a level of playability that I'd find similar or better. (Others might disagree, that's OK, just an opinion.)

Just tuned a cheap grand last week. Probably extracted 7 or 8 pencils and a bunch of paper clips. LOL! Wouldn't want it. Hated the sound of it even though the owner thinks it's great. To each their own. I'd rather play my cheapest beater keyboard, the one I drag around to rehearsals.

Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily give up on the "shimmery tuner". I remember when I first started out, I wasn't so good at it. I would sometimes cringe a little with listening to my own tunings. But that cringing was the motivation to learn to do it better, and I did. Had a bad experience with a "jerk" in the PTG and spent a lot of years thinking it was a horrible group of people. I was wrong. I met a "bad apple". Later on, I found some wonderful people who had forgotten more than I ever knew and some of them were so ready to share information and techniques. Just another example of years I lost believing something that wasn't true. (Sorry goin' down a bunny trail...)

ShiroKuro

Bellyman I wouldn't necessarily give up on the "shimmery tuner".

Actually, the shimmery tuner is different from the inexperienced tuner. If my current tuner fully retires I would try her (the inexperienced tuner) again.

The shimmery tuner is a long-standing veteran tuner. You might have missed my threads about him, he prefers to do unequal tunings and he didn't stick around to see if I actually liked his tuning. I don't have the impression that he's willing to be flexible, so I did indeed give up on him.

re this:

I've replaced soundboards, built bridges, built and fit pinblocks, restrung, rebuilt actions, regulated, voiced, dabbled a bit in refinishing

You could certainly get back into tuning but say no to the bigger jobs like this.

Re digitals, I am someone who definitely prefers acoustics, but I started on a digital, I went back to owning a digital when I went back to school to get a PhD and was living in an apartment. A digital is a perfectly fine instrument, less expensive to buy and easier to move, so I totally get why their popularity has continued to increase.

Bellyman

ShiroKuro Actually, the shimmery tuner is different from the inexperienced tuner. If my current tuner fully retires I would try her (the inexperienced tuner) again.

Aaah, my apologies, I got that confused.

I actually used to like the "bigger jobs" a lot more than tuning. But that's so long ago and I know I've forgotten so much. I don't have the workshop I once did, either.

For quite a few years, I worked for a larger dealership. I would spend 3 or sometimes 4 days a week in the rebuilding shop and they'd send me out 1 or 2 days a week tuning since that was a good cash cow for them. And I can see that. Rebuilding was often a long process with significant output ($$) and delayed income ($$$) so I'm sure the tunings helped to pay the bills.

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