I needed to have my Kimball Spinet tuned or
repaired. When I sat down to
play, it was frustrating. The keys
would stick, or would not produce a sound.
Most difficult was listening to some notes
that would seem to strike two notes
together, neither of which was in tune.
I began to think my piano playing ability
had dwindled. It never occurred to me
that the piano had problems.
In the
past I utilized a piano tuner with no
accreditation. He would arrive, tune
the piano in about thirty minutes, take my
payment and leave. I would explain the
problems I was experiencing, and was told
that they were unfixable. After his
service, the piano would stay tuned briefly,
and then it would sound as bad as before.
I didn’t like paying and paying without
results, so I just stopped having the piano
tuned and stopped playing entirely. I
couldn’t stand to listen to the piano.
Yet, I wanted to teach my daughters to play.
I had to find someone qualified to help my
piano. I did some research on Google
and came across the Piano Technicians Guild.
From that site I was linked to the RPT
(Registered Piano Technician) in my area.
This brought me to Wes Flinn. Attached
to his Guild link were his customer reviews,
so I read through them. Each customer
was very praise worthy and satisfied.
I called Wes and scheduled an appointment.
Wes
inspected my piano and explained what needed
to be repaired. I was pleased to learn
that every complaint I had about the piano
could be fixed. Every question I asked
was explained in excellent detail and in
understandable terms. The repairs
would include action regulation and
lubrication, calibrating and leveling the
keyboard, a Pitch Raise tuning plus cleaning
inside and out. He even described how
I could refurbish the exterior myself, using
easily found and inexpensive supplies.
Wes provided a reasonable quote, so I
scheduled the repairs.
I
learned much from Mr. Flinn’s website at
www.PianoTuningPhoenix.com.
Contained within were helpful, clickable
lists of information, including tuning an
acoustic piano, to humidity control, to
buying and selling pianos. There is a
wealth of easy to understand information
contained in each title. I truly
understood what would be done to my piano.
After reviewing his explanations on “Tuning”
I realized that in the past, what I had
asked those non-accredited tuners to fix on
my piano had never been addressed.
Educating myself on piano terms really
helped me understand what Wes would be
doing. This in turn boosted my
eagerness to play my “new” piano.
On a
Monday Wes cleaned the piano -- this work
alone took about two and a half hours --
then removed the action for regulation and
lubrication at his shop. On Friday,
Wes returned to begin the real work of
calibrating the keyboard, leveling the keys,
finishing the regulation and finally setting
the Pitch Raise and Fine Tuning. He
allowed me to participate and help clean
each of the keys. He worked quickly
and professionally. An unexpected dry
weather crack in an action part was found at
the last minute and repaired -- I have high
praise for Wes in that he stuck with his
original quote of the cost despite the
surprise repair. I admire his
integrity.
I now
understand that what Wes gave my piano what
is called “Full Maintenance Service” plus a
Pitch Raise and a Fine Tuning --
complete definitions are on his Website.
When the piano was complete, I was amazed at
the difference. The keys moved
beautifully, the sound was excellent.
I spent several hours that night playing
almost every piece of music I own. I
realized then that I hadn’t lost my piano
playing talent; I just didn’t have a piano
that was cooperating.
I
highly recommend Wes Flinn to anyone who
wants their piano to really play well.
Also, he has wonderful rapport with children
and pets.
Alissa Austin
Phoenix, Arizona