Questions people ask us

Once a year suits most pianos in a normal home. Twice a year is for the ones that earn it: a piano that has just had a big pitch raise, one coming back after years untouched, or one that gets played hard. What Michael sees again and again is that somewhere around the two-to-three-year mark a piano does not drift: it drops, and by then the visit is a rescue rather than a tuning. Coming back before that is what keeps it easy.

All is not lost. It will most likely need a pitch raise first. We start at the center of the piano and work up and down, adjusting the strings in increments to the A440 standard. Working in steps like this keeps strings from breaking. It is included in every tuning at no extra cost.

Still not lost. We have brought pianos back that sat untouched for 20 or 30 years, usually in a single appointment and at the normal tuning price. Badly rusted strings can call for a gentler second session, but that is case by case and we will talk it through first. A piano like this benefits most from the Annual Tuning Plan, which gets it back in shape over the year and keeps it there.

First things first: call or text us. Inside the 30-day warranty we come back free, and shortly past it we can usually still make it work. Closer to two months out, a small trip charge may apply. Common causes: dry wood around the pin block, strings still stretching on newer pianos, or a big humidity swing. Most people do not realize carpet cleaning or painting a room affects the piano. A cracked bridge, and occasionally a soundboard, can also make a piano drift faster.

Give it at least 2 weeks to acclimate to the new spot. Coming from a humid climate to our dry one, give it 3 to 4 weeks. When you book online, tell us the move date and the calendar opens on the right day automatically.

Away from heat and AC vents, out of direct sun, and off exterior walls when possible. Steady temperature matters more than the perfect room. Small rooms heat up and cool down fastest, so leaving the door open helps the piano too.

It can. Dry winters shrink the soundboard and the pitch sags. A room humidifier near the piano helps. Ask about it at your next visit and we will look together.

No. Digital pianos do not go out of tune. We service acoustic uprights and grands only.

A tuning runs 50 minutes to 2 hours depending on the piano. Please clear everything off the piano before we arrive. For cleanings on tall uprights, we clean the back only if the piano is on wheels or already away from the wall, so pulling it out ahead of time is appreciated when possible.

Around 11,000 piano names have existed over the years, and only about 50 brands remain today, so many pianos come from sister companies of names you would recognize. We have serviced nearly all of them. Want to know how old your piano is or what shape it is in? Ask and we will take a look.

Right here, and thank you: leave a Google review.

Yes, if your piano was tuned within the last 18 months. A piano that comes back inside that window has not drifted far, so the visit is quicker and the price is lower. That is the Loyal Customer rate.

Past 18 months, the piano usually needs the full first-time treatment again, a proper pitch raise included, and it goes back to the first-time price. It is not a penalty for being late. It is a different amount of work. Book whichever one you think fits and Michael will sort it out with you before the visit rather than surprising you at the door.

One exception. If Michael has put your piano on a longer schedule of 18 months or two years because it holds its tune well, your window is two years, and he will have told you that at the visit. Nobody is charged more for following the schedule he set them.

However suits you. Tax is included in every listed price. Cash and check cost you nothing extra. Card, Venmo, and the phone wallets cost Michael a percentage on every payment, so those add a % processing fee to the total, the trip charge included. That is the same whether you pay at the appointment, online, or for a gift. We never keep your card on file.

On a tuning the fee is about . Michael tells you the exact total before he takes any payment.

Yes, and it is cheaper that way. The first piano is its usual price and every piano after it is tuned at the Loyal Customer rate on the same visit, whether or not you have had Michael out before. What the second piano saves is the drive and the setup, not the tuning, so the price reflects that rather than being half off.

Pick the number of pianos on the booking form and it works out the total and blocks out enough of the day for all of them. You can book up to online. A church or a school with more than that is worth a phone call, because a day of pianos is priced differently.

No, and we would rather say so plainly than guess. Putting a value on an instrument is an appraisal, which is its own profession with its own standards and its own liability, and it is not one Michael practices. He will not give you a figure or a price range for a piano, in writing or over the phone, and no report from us can be used for insurance, an estate, or a donation claim.

What he can do is put in writing what shape the piano is in and what any work it needs would cost. That is the condition report, and for somebody considering a used piano it is usually the more useful document anyway: you get the asking price from the seller, the cost of the work from us, and you add them up yourself.

If you do need a value, ask a personal property appraiser who specializes in musical instruments. Your insurer or your accountant can normally point you at one.

Churches, schools, government offices, and registered charities do not pay Utah sales tax, and our listed prices include it, so the tax comes off the total. Check the tax-exempt box when you book and put your organization's name in. The booking page shows you the exempt figure right away.

Have your signed exemption certificate ready at the appointment: form TC-721G for government bodies and public schools, TC-721RC for religious and charitable organizations. Michael keeps it on file and takes the tax off the invoice on the day. He cannot apply the exemption without it, so please do not leave it until afterwards.

You only do this once. One certificate covers everything you book from us for the next year. We only need a fresh one if more than twelve months go by between visits.

No trip charge from Payson to Taylorsville. Beyond that it is $25 plus $1 per round-trip mile from Orem Center near I-15. The booking page works it out from your address and Michael confirms it when he calls.

All work is covered for 30 days. If something is not right, call or text and we come back.

Life happens. Reschedule or cancel free with a day's notice: just call or text, or use the links in your confirmation email. Same-day cancellations may carry the trip charge if Michael is already on the road.

Yes, and it makes a great one. Pick Gift a tuning when you book, pay online, and add a note. They get an email with your note and a link to pick their own time.