Frequently Asked Questions

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Piano Tuning

• Regular Periodic Tuning

  Manufacturers recommend that your piano be tuned as often as four times per year, depending on its usage and the climate. Tuning includes a general internal dusting of the piano, plus most minor adjustments that do not require parts replacement or excessive extra time to complete.

• Pitch Raising

  When the tension of a piano's strings falls significantly, it becomes impractical to raise the pitch to concert (A-440) level in a single tuning. In addition, large tension changes may bring crimps or irregularities into the speaking length of the strings, introducing undesirable tones or "false beats". For these reasons, a neglected piano that has not been tuned for many years may require one or two pitch raise tunings before it can be properly fine-tuned and hold its pitch for a reasonable amount of time.

Piano Repair

Your piano is a complex combination of thousands of individual parts traditionally made of wood, glue, felt and metal. Some pianos contain plastic or nylon components as well. All pianos eventually require some repairs as they age. Replacement or repair of individual parts can generally be taken care of when the piano is being tuned. Fees for repairs are generally assessed on a time and materials basis.

While many repairs can be anticipated when the technician first looks over the instrument, some aging or damaged parts may fail during the tuning process. For example, occasionally a rusted string may not break until the tuner attempts to change its tension, no matter how much care is used. Such surprises dramatically decrease in pianos that are regularly maintained.

Piano Regulation

Regulation is the complete adjustment of all of the piano's internal moving parts to achieve optimal performance. Home pianos rarely require regulation, usually only once in 25 years or so. Professional and Concert pianos are regulated periodically to suit the exacting standards of performance artists.

Piano Rebuilding

When certain major parts of the piano have aged beyond repair or been damaged, the technician may suggest that pieces of the piano be transported back to the shop for partial or complete rebuilding. The "action" of a piano includes most of the moving parts and can generally be removed and transported by one person in a car or van. Rebuilding services offered by Jim Selleck include:

• Key Recovering (new plastic keytops)
• New Hammers
• New Damper Pads
• Restringing
• Bass Bridge Repair
• Sound Board Repair

Antique player pianos and other collectors' items such as nickelodeons require rebuilding as their cloth and leather parts age. I lack room in my shop at this time to work on more than one player piano action at a time. Therefore I am not actively seeking player rebuilding work, but will consider requests on a job by job basis.

Refinishing

Jim Selleck's Piano Service offers piano refinishing in cooperation with our excellent local professional affiliates.