"PianoCraft is reliable, responsive, and completely professional.

This means so much to me. You care, and it shows."

Ellen Tenebaum
Owner of 1933 Steinway 'M'

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The Importance of Maintaining Your Piano

If you want to take good, basic care of your piano, you will want to tune it every 6 months. Some people have their piano tuned more because they are a bit pickier, and some people only tune their piano once per year. Once per year should really be the absolute minimum, but if you have gone longer than a year since your piano was tuned, don’t worry! PianoCraft will happily bring it back to sounding in tune!

Twice per year is recommended because of the yearly dramatic indoor climate changes with the air conditioning in the summer and the hot humid weather, and the indoor heat in the winter with the cold and dry weather. In the summer the pitch will rise and in the winter the pitch will fall. The changing pitch is particularly problematic because the drift is not even across the keyboard.

If you’re having your piano tuned once a year, it will not suffer significant damage – even though it won’t sound as good – but a piano that is left to sit for many years, even one that’s not being played, will drift much farther out of pitch than is healthy for a piano. If this is allowed to happen it will take a series of pitch raise tuning service visits to get the piano back to where it had been before neglect.

Piano Tuning

Tuning is the number one reason people call us. Getting your piano tuned will make the most obvious sound improvement on your piano. If your piano hasn’t been tuned in the last 6 months it likely needs a tuning to sound its best, even if it doesn’t get played that much. Contact PianoCraft Service to schedule a time for one of our highly trained piano technicians to tune your piano. You will love it!

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General Repairs

Is something on your piano broken? Whether a mechanical or case problem, our expert craftsmen can fix it. Many repairs can be done in your home, but if it requires more, we have a state of the art full service shop that can repair pretty much any problem no matter how extensive.

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Regulation

Does your piano feel sluggish? Does it not feel and play as precisely and evenly as it use to, or as you would like? Chances are it needs some adjustments to the moving parts of the piano called the action. This is known as regulation and is part of the regular maintenance every piano needs, but most piano owners aren’t even aware of its importance. PianoCraft Service’s expert technicians can regulate your piano to feel and respond better than ever! If your piano hasn’t had any regulation done recently (or ever!) or if it doesn’t seem to respond as well as you would like, contact us to make an appointment or with any questions regarding this critical part of maintaining your piano’s health and performance.

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Voicing

If your piano doesn’t have an even sound note to note, if it sounds overly bright and tinny, or if it sounds weak and dull, chances are having PianoCraft voice your piano will improve it immensely. As your piano gets played, the felt of the hammers are constantly hitting the steel of the strings. The felt gets compacted and harder in a manner that makes your piano sound uneven and unpleasant. PianoCraft Service’s expert technicians can “voice” your piano to sound beautifully warm and rich, and even from note to note. This is a very important part of normal maintenance for your piano that often gets neglected. People are often amazed at how much better their piano sounds after it is properly voiced. If your piano hasn’t been voiced recently (or ever!), or it just doesn’t sound the way you would like, contact us to make an appointment or with any questions regarding this critical part of maintaining your piano’s health and performance.

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Climate Control

The Washington DC climate is hot and humid in the summer and cold and dry in the winter. These climate extremes play havoc on the wood of your piano, causing it to go out of tune and out of regulation and the swings in humidity may even cause cracks in the soundboard! PianoCraft Service can install systems that will protect your piano from the harsh Washington DC climate and keep it sounding and playing better and lasting longer! Protect your investment and contact PianoCraft Service with any questions regarding climate control for your piano.

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