Martin's Piano Tuning & Repairs

Last week, tuning & looking after pianos for Australian Concerto & Vocal Competition , Townsville.
Lots of sensational talent & lovely people.
An excellent week.

Lovely old Lipp piano had its final strings installed today by Nick from Far North QLD Piano Services.
This piano will sound beautiful.

An old Richard Lipp built in 1880 belonging to Marie France & Trevor Mack is having new strings & a few other bits & pieces right now.
This piano is a sterling example of the quality workmanship that came out of the Lipp factory almost a century and a half ago.
This piano will sound beautiful again.
Nick Springall will be here next week, on his way back from Alice to help with the last part.
I'm really looking forward to hearing this beautiful piano sing again.

Folks, just having a bit of a flick through Marketplace a few minutes ago & there are LOTS of junk, piano shaped objects on there for sale.
Please DO NOT buy a 2nd hand piano without it being looked at first. Mostly, you are buying someone else's problems.
Not only do you have the expense of buying it & transporting it to your house (VERY expensive). But then, you've got your piano tech who's going to give you the bad news regarding how much it will cost to get it working correctly.
Mostly, these old pianos have been flogged by years of playing with no maintenance having ever been done.
Please, if you know someone who's in the market for a 2nd hand piano, pass the word around.
Please don't buy a junk piano.

This old Schiedmeyer piano, built around 1905, is for sale in the Townsville area. Piano has good tone & felts are still in reasonable nic. Needs to have some work done on the pin block (aprox $500.00) but will come up nicely. If you're interested in a period piano that plays well & sounds good, please call Gillian for the price on 0402498064.

Been a little quiet on the northern front as far as tunings go, this last week or so. I'm glad to have some repairs going on in the workshop. This is a little Kawai CX4 upright action in for some new bits & pieces, a good clean & long overdue service. This little upright will work really well soon enough & will be back in action for a goodly while longer.🙂

This nice 170 cm Steinbach grand has just come up for sale in Townsville. The action is on my bench for some minor repairs & regulation & would be a very good piano to own. Piano has been kept in an excellent environment & shows very little wear & usage.
Seller wants $10,000.00
Please contact Judy Mackay on 0417612371 for more details.

This is one of the things I enjoy about my trade & don't often get to do - some running veneer repairs on an old 1950's Australian Beale.😊

Folks, don't let just anyone remove the action out of your grand piano. This is what happens if you do.
Things break when a novice has a crack.
Seen this far too many times. 😞
Ask a piano tech to do it for you.

I promised myself one of these Japanese water stones for a while - 1000/6000G. Makes a razor sharp edge for work knives & chisels.
What do they say about sharp blades?😄
Once this cyclone comes & goes, I'm looking forward to tuning & servicing your piano. All the best to all Townsvillians in the coming week.

Friends, the new year is off to a galloping start. Hope all's well in your world. Just as a reminder, the two pics you see, one is a piano & the other is a digital keyboard & NOT a piano. I tune & repair pianos & don't repair anything electrical.
Just so there's no misunderstanding (and there often is) a digital keyboard gets plugged into the wall & you must switch it on to get it to work. A piano, you sit down & just play.
If your digital is giving you grief then you can call the local music shop (Artie's Music if you're in Townsville) & they'll point you in the right direction. On the other hand, if your piano needs tuning or has another problem, you know what to do...😉

I'm glad to be doing one of my fave things leading up to Christmas, that is repairing someone's old piano.
This is a very old German Carl Ecke piano that is getting a make over.
Merry Christmas to one and all & an excellent 2024😊

Folks, it's THAT time of year again. And🤔... EVERYBODY knows what that means? It means, don't buy junk piano shaped things off Marketplace thinking you're getting the deal of the century - in particular the one's pictured.😄
Just don't do it...for your sake first and mine.
ALWAYS call me before you take the plunge.

I haven't posted for a while. But, right now there's no bench space left at Martin's Piano Tuning & Repairs with 4 jobs in.
Gotta love it😄