Steinway Tuning Schedule

brdwyguy

Hi, is it normal that my Steinway needs a tuning around every 2 - 3 months?
INFO: I play a good hour on my piano every single day, sometimes a little more
I have a Humidifier in the Fall/Winter and a Dehumidifier for the Spring/Summer Months
My meter usually reads around 45 - 50 in Warm Months & 30 - 45 in Cold Months

My piano is a rebuilt/refurbished Steinway Model A II from 1912.
I have an expert Tuner/Technician who works on my piano and we have been doing a lot of Voicing & Regulation in the past 2/3 years I have owned the instrument - getting it to sound and feel just the way I want it.

My only concern is, is this 2 -3 month time frame normal? It doesn't go far out of tune, but just enough to become slightly annoying. The piano had a new pinblock (Bulldock) and new pins replaced in 2020.
brdwyguy

twocats

brdwyguy I'm starting to migrate to a 4x a year tuning schedule. The cost adds up but the weather shifts here do a number on the tuning! My answer is not specific to Steinway but it's normal to get some tuning drift within 2-3 months.

JohnCW

brdwyguy My only concern is, is this 2 -3 month time frame normal? It doesn't go far out of tune, but just enough to become slightly annoying. The piano had a new pinblock (Bulldock) and new pins replaced in 2020.

Perfectly normal. A major concert performance piano will be tuned every DAY!

pianoloverus

brdwyguy There is no "normal" because tuning frequency depends on how sensitive one is to the piano going out of tune, one's finances, and how stable the humidity is in the piano room.

HeartKeys

It doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. I get my pianos tuned about each 4-5 months, but that’s because I can tolerate some off pitch keys. If money were no object, and a tech was available at all times, then I’d get it tuned monthly! 🙂

rogerch

After my piano was restrung it needed to be tuned at least every three months for awhile. It's been three years now and twice a year is working for me. However, I'm not very sensitive to out-of-tune notes. I think it has to get pretty bad before it bugs me. If you are a lot more sensitive than I am then I can see two or three months making sense. I've read about people who notice a piano going out of tune within days!

Timothy

I wish I could have my piano tuned every three months!

That sounds normal to me for a slight drift in the tuning. I’ll notice it from time to time on a note or two on mine, but usually I can live with it and wait until my next scheduled appointment with my tech.

I’d let your own sensitivity and preference for a polished tuning dictate how often it’s done.

danno858

I also have a Steinway A-II from 1911. I had it tuned in January and it is still good. Was thinking about a tuning next month some time. I live out West in California where the climate is much drier. I wonder if that has any bearing. I think brdwyguy did get some new strings recently.

rogerch

FWIW live in California too. Humidity stays pretty constant in my piano room with no interventions.

Vuong

rogerch \
True. I live not very far from you and have my piano tuned only every 6 months. The climate here helps the humidity to stay constant all year round.

brdwyguy

Ithaca Yes we replaced the Mapes Bass String with Hellerbass Strings with Paullelo center wires.

Thank you everyone - sounds like it is on the normal side and I am just over worrying!

brdwyguy

Bellyman

For a serious piano player, and it sounds like you are, being on a quarterly tuning schedule is quite normal.

Just from previous experience, and I know you said you do some things for humidity control, some of the most stable pianos I've had the opportunity to take care of had onboard systems to control both humidifier and dehumidifier systems installed directly on the piano. I'm out of it for quite a few years now, Dampp-Chaser was the brand I was most familiar with. FWIW.

Happy playing!

brdwyguy

Bellyman thank you Bellyman. I like to think I am a 'serious piano player' hehehehe
especially since I have retired as a Music/Theatre teacher. I played the piano all day at my school for
Choral Classes/Glee Club/Show Choir/etc etc so the last thing I felt like doing was come home and play the piano.
Now in retirement, I can play to my hearts content, what I WANT to play. I tried taking piano lessons again for a year and I wound up beginning to play things for the teacher and there I was playing & practicing things for him. I decided to back away with it - he was a very good teacher and very understanding for this older man.
brdwyguy

pseudonym58

I have my Yamaha C2 tuned every 4 months, but I fix some sour unisons myself certainly by the third month. If my tuner were available more frequently, I would certainly have the piano tuned four times a year at least; it's so wonderful sounding for the first couple of months!