Category Archives: Update

Summer Piano Tuning – don’t forget the Sheffield Piano Tuner during the holidays!

Don’t forget to have your piano tuned this Summer. While you have some time off work and the kids are out of School, it might be the perfect time to devote some extra time to your hobbies. The Sheffield piano tuner is always open for business. Please remember, if your piano has not been tuned in a few years, it might need more work – £50 to £70 is the price of piano tuning depending on how sharp or flat its pitch is. For the best results your piano should be tuned twice a year, ensuring optimal stability and performance.

  • Richard, Piano Tuner Sheffield.

Why so cheap? £45 for a Sheffield Piano Tuning is below the going rate

I know what you’re thinking. £45 for a piano tuning in Sheffield seems under-priced, so there must be hidden charges included. Well, the only time a ‘hidden’ charge might apply is if I were to turn up and find that the piano needs a pitch raise rather than a standard piano tuning to tune it to concert pitch – in those instances I charge £45 for the first tuning, and then £20 for a second two weeks after the first. That isn’t just me; every piano tuner will charge extra for a pitch raise (every piano tuner I’ve heard of at least), and most like to break it up into two visits two weeks apart to ensure the best result in terms of tuning stability.

For the £45 you get two hours of my labour – which includes a full piano tuning and any minor piano repairs that can be done within that time. This is usually enough to ensure a piano is fully functional/operational. It’s then up to the customer to decide if they’d like to spend more on extra action parts or on some of the finer points of piano regulation that might take it up a level in terms of its performance (not so much its sound – that will have been taken care of during the piano tuning).

I hope I’ve done my 10,000 hours of piano tuning and repairs by now. From what I’ve observed, a good tuning and a basic set up of the action will leave the majority of piano tuning customers very happy indeed. There are certain players (usually in possession of high-end pianos) who may desire something a little more extensive, such as voicing/toning the hammers to achieve a certain sound (typically a brighter or a warmer tone). Generally speaking, if someone has looked after their piano and had it tuned & serviced regularly, I’ll spend about an hour to an hour and a half on the piano tuning plus a little time making any adjustments to compensate for one or two worn action parts. If it’s an older piano and the action is showing more severe signs of wear, I’ll suggest replacing action parts if it’s cost effective to do so and if such a decision would greatly improve its playability and performance.

I’m glad that, even with rising living costs, I can continue to give people in the Sheffield area a good deal on piano tuning. It’s a business model that has worked quite well over the years, and helps me get a few new customers each week, plus my round of regulars. I work in other cities and towns, as mentioned across this website, but travel costs have to be taken into consideration on those trips (although my prices are still competitive even then). If a customer can book me in with a neighbour at the same time I’ll sometimes offer a discount as well, depending on the location.

  • Richard, Sheffield Piano Tuner.

A big thank you to my Sheffield Piano Tuning patrons

I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has booked me in recent months. I’m extremely happy with the workflow since the restrictions were lifted – business has improved exponentially. After a seriously rough 2020-21 it’s very nice/pleasing to see people becoming more confident about having tradespeople into their homes. There’s an obvious build up of people who have postponed booking the piano tuner throughout these difficult times – it’s even more noticeable in a big city like Sheffield.

My rates remain extremely competitive for those in Sheffield and nearby areas who need a new piano tuner. Taking into account the price of fuel, it’s always a delight to have a day of piano tuning where all the jobs are close to home. Part and parcel of the trade is travel and which I see as par for the course – 90% of the time a long drive is taken as an opportunity to catch up on my music listening (after a long day of concentrating on overtones and pitch, I enjoy listening to music all the more). On my ‘Sheffield and South Yorkshire piano tuning’ days it does feel like I’ve both reduced my carbon footprint and saved money, however.

I’d also like to thank anyone in the other areas I cover for your custom. If you’ve struggled to find a piano tuner who would come out to your area, I’m glad that my willingness to travel has helped you.

The busy bee that is me (business matters)

The last few weeks have been… different. When it comes to finding new clients, I’ll be the first to admit that haven’t always been the most merchantable nor the most sedulous; thus I have had to get used to other piano tuners taking the lion’s share of new work in Sheffield, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. At first I didn’t complain about this: after a few years of due diligence, my perseverance had since paid off when satisfied customers began recommending me (this was particularly helpful when piano teachers recommended me to students looking for a Sheffield-based piano tuner). Word of mouth was enough to make piano tuning a viable enterprise.

Around 2017 – 2018, some saddening personal circumstances focused my attention back towards my piano tuning pursuits and my lack of visibility online. This led the to question “could I be doing more?” Unlike my early lacklustre efforts, I began utilising the internet with new rigour, ensuring my presence is conspicuously ever-present rather than a footnote on the bottom of a google search. I have steadily made myself known and this has resulted in an abundance of calls & emails which are very much welcome. Honesty is the key: all the relevant information one could want can (hopefully) be found on the website and if it can’t be found, I’m always quick to answer emails, texts and phone calls. I can safely say I’ll never be one for “hidden charges” and the like – that much is obvious at a quick glance of the website.

The light has began to shine on me again and I am most grateful for the continued interest in my work – this is still a growing piano tuning business after all, and new patronage is needed for its continued operation.

– Richard Lidster,  Piano Tuner Sheffield

Piano tuning for the long haul

Should you need a piano tuning in Sheffield or any of the other areas I cover, I would urge you to book as far in as advance as you are willing. That said, I shall endeavour to meet any requirements for a short notice booking if my availability allows it. Booking a piano tuning a fortnight or two in advance just helps to ease the workflow. I’m also opening my business on weekends as well simply to deal with the astonishing number of calls I’ve received over the last few weeks. Sheffield piano tuning will be easier, but other areas are always manageable.

A quick note on my upcoming schedule

As noted before, I’m still piano tuning in Sheffield and the surrounding areas during the lockdown. I’m surprisingly busy at the moment, so if anyone needs a last minute booking I may be willing to work a weekend if none of my hours suit you. I don’t usually even like to think about piano tuning on weekends, but with the heavy workflow I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on a piano tuning. Particularly if they’re about to take a piano exam.

Richard,

07542667040

How is the Sheffield piano tuner dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic?

Many people are asking how the Sheffield piano tuner is coping with the pandemic and what his available hours are for piano tuning.

Business hours are back to how they were during the lockdown, but he is taking more precautions to avoid catching the virus and potentially spreading it to others (being particularly mindful of the elderly occupants at his  Sheffield residence). Here are a few steps he is undertaking to ensure everyone stays safe:

  1. Before the piano tuning , he will politely ask the customer to clean the keys (rub in vertical motions to prevent dirt getting down the sides) with an antibacterial wipe.
  2. He will take care to maintain social distancing during every visit.
  3. Bookings are arranged geographically, so that one day will be for Sheffield piano tuning, one for Leeds, one for Hull, etc (piano tuning in 2020 requires wide travel)
  4. For customers who are particularly anxious, masks are kept in the car to be worn on request.

These steps will be rigorously followed for the foreseeable future. He is very appreciative of anyone who books a piano tuning during this difficult and uncertain time. If anything changes this website and blog will be updated immediately.

New prices for the Sheffield Piano Tuner

Due to an influx of new inqueries and a costly new marketing campaign, the Sheffield piano tuner has raised his prices £5. £45 for a piano tuning is still very modest compared to similar services in the UK. Don’t forget that this also includes many repair and regulation jobs that other piano tuner’s will charge extra for. I generally do as much as I can within two hours to make sure your piano sounds and plays the best it can. If the work needed takes more than two hours I charge £25 per hour plus the price of any replacement parts (worn felts and bushings are sometimes replaced during the regulation process). Keeping the customer satisfied is in both our interests – my working hours are flexible and I can always work around your busy schedule.

– Richard, Piano Tuner Sheffield.

Why has the Sheffield Piano Tuner been silent for so long?

For the last nine months the Sheffield Piano Tuner has been splitting his time evenly between Sheffield and West Yorkshire in the hopes of gaining more customers in towns such as Wakefield, Halifax, Bradford and Leeds. The hard work I’ve put into promoting my business in those towns has, unfortunately, caused me to neglect this website somewhat (aside from updating my availability page a few times per week), as at least two thirds of my piano tuning enquiries are from people who live far away from Sheffield. I’m still a Sheffield piano tuner though and will be forcing myself to update this website more so I can attract customers in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley and Chesterfield. There are many people in those towns as well who need a piano tuner – please pass my name on if you anyone; my number is 07542667040 and my email is richard@pianotunersheffield.co.uk.

 

For information about The Sheffield Piano Tuner’s new workshop check my sister website. The blog page on that website is updated much more regularly with diary entries.