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I live in Naples Florida, does anyone know how much it would cost to tune a piano roughly an estimate. Aside from needing to be tuned what does it mean when you play the keys and they sound twangy?

Anecdotally, tunings seem to average about a hundred bucks. Some charge more, some charge less.

"Twangy" could simply be out of tune or...

I suggest that you call up some local tuners and discuss your piano with them. I would not want to hold them to a price which may not be reasonable in your area.

yeah the only thing is there is only really one piano store here in Naples and im not sure if they do it or just sell piano's. As far as the Twangy sound i think it may just be out of tune im really hoping that the sound board is not damaged from being moved from one place to another twice even though we were careful, i heard that the sound board being cracked can make it sound bad and in my oppinion it doesnt really sound all that bad.

I would get tuned up before worrying about the other sounds because alot of them may disappear with a good tuning. Mine did! Also make sure you let the tuner know how long it's been since the piano was tuned when you call them. If it's been so long you're embarassed to admit it don't fib, they really do need to know because if it has been a REALLY long time it may take longer for them to tune it than if it was done just last year.

If you look in the yellow pages under piano there should be some techicians and tuners listed or ask at the store and if they don't have anyone they can probably at least recomend someone.

I don't see an RPT in Naples, so you may want to call the local college or high school music dept for a referral. The piano store should know a good tech as well.

You can't fib us even if you try. We can tell by listening to it and looking for tuning dates how often you've really had it tuned anyway.

JERRY!!! You're giving away the gris-gris!!

LOL!!

I know discussing prices ist sehr verboten, PTG-wise, but am I wrong in saying that the nationwide "average" is likely about a hundred bucks?

Would it be so wrong if someone said it?

I have no idea what the nationwide average might be.

In my area, it varies from $105 up to $140. Just for the tuning. No pitch raises included.

Seventy-five is the lowest I've heard here, $120 the highest.

In our area the range is about $105 - $155 for a basic service (doesn't include pitch raise. With a pitch raise I think its between $125-$200. The top techs in Seattle get over $200.

Phil Bondi http://www.philbondi.com/ looks like your man. He's about 15 miles from Naples.

Don't price shop for technicians. Pay the extra to get the tech who has the best rep. You'll be more likely to get more for your money.

Get it done right!

You'll have to excuse me because I made an error. In my mind I was thinking members of the PTG. I forgot about the non members. The lowest prices for some of them are $70.

I've read a lot of what Bondi has had to say...and I think if I lived 15 miles from him, I'd have him tune MY piano...

True! I had a series of oddly out of tune pianos in the Boothbay, ME region many years ago that baffled me. The pianos had obviously been tampered with by a non-tuner, but the scale anomalies were unusual. Finally I learned that a customer had used a tape recorder to tape one of my tunings, and was going around with the machine doing tunings. Mind you, he hadn't taped the result, but the whole process ... every ding, ding, ding!

'Hope that's not giving away too much of the "Gris gris".

It's pretty easy to tell if the family "handy man" has been twisting the "pegs", or how many times the cat has walked the keys (paw prints on the sharps, and hairs sticking out of the sharp notches).

Most of us in my region are at around $100, plus or minus. Here there are some newer tuners who charge less, but I'm not noticing any loss of business to these folks...I think the majority of people want quality and a trusted person in their home, rather than to shop for the lowest pricing.

In bigger cities I know tuners charge a little more, and that's fair given traffic et al. Personally, with other services like Dampp Chaser (servicing and sales) and other needed maintenance and repair, we're still coming in way over just the tuning fee on average anyway, fwiw.

RPD

Okay, I give up. What is fwiw? I've seen it many times and just can't figure it out.

For What It's Worth

OH! To easy! Thanks!

Sorry...its probably the only abbreviated thing I know and I use it to look and feel cool, young, and hip.

YMMV

RPD ;-)

Of course you can't be tricked once you get there!!!

I just figure it's rude to misrepresent your piano on the phone and how much work may be awaiting the tech when they get there. Tell it like it is and there won't be scheduling conflicts or misunderstandings over quoted prices. When I made the first call for mine and the tuner asked me about my piano I was honest and told him I've got an enormous 100+ yr old monster in my living room that hasn't been tuned in decades and I'd like him to try and do something with it because I want to learn to play.

The last tuning date I could find in my piano was from 1960!!!