Author Archives: blanton

Richmond Piano Tuning For Christmas & Holiday Season

richmond piano tuning christmasThe holidays are getting closer, and it’s time for Richmond piano tuning for Christmas & Holiday Season! It seems everyone remembers to get their piano tuned in December or even the week before Christmas. And while I hate to let anyone down, I can only tune so many pianos in a week.

So if you want your piano to sound great when you have your holiday party sing-alongs, please plan ahead just a bit, and have it tuned as soon as possible.

That way you’ll also be able to enjoy your perfectly tuned piano during the entire holiday season!

Imagine how embarrassed you (or whoever plays your piano) would be if there were sticking keys, broken strings, or other issues that result in unsavory sounds coming from your piano. And then, there’s that out-of-tune music too.

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Piano Tuner Near Me – Finding The Best Piano Tuner

piano tuner near meAre you looking for a new piano tuner? Or maybe you’re looking for your first one.

If you’ve recently bought or been gifted with a piano, you’re probably asking yourself: “How do I find a Piano Tuner near me?”

And when I looked around a bit online in order to find out how I could help my potential customers find me, I discovered that this is actually a very common question. That’s why I decided to write up a quick guide to help you with finding and deciding on the best piano tuner for your needs.

As you check out my website, you may also notice that I usually feature an image of a piano with each article, but this time I have decided to include a photo of myself. After all, you need to see the person who will come to your home and work on your piano, to make sure you’ll feel comfortable with him (in my case) or her.

Piano Tuner Near Me – Why That’s Important

Why is it important to find a piano tuner near you? Or at least, why should you start your search there? Continue reading →

Richmond Piano Restoration & Repair

richmond piano restorationDoes your piano need more than the occasional tuning? Maybe it needs to be repaired, or perhaps it’s in serious need for Richmond Piano Restoration!

When a piano has been neglected for a long time, or if it has been sitting in a less than ideal space, it may need a whole lot more than tuning or even simple repairs. Of course most piano lovers wouldn’t dream of neglecting their pianos, but bad things can happen to good pianos.

In some cases, a piano has been inherited from a relative who wasn’t actually playing it. Maybe the love for playing the piano skipped a generation or two.

In other cases, you got a great bargain on a piano you found on Craigslist or another place – but it needs lots of fixing to put it back in working condition.

Richmond Piano Restoration – When Is It Needed?

You may be wondering Continue reading →

Piano Tuning Cost & Piano Moving Cost: Your Questions Answered

piano tuning costAre you wondering how much it costs to tune a piano – or to move a piano? I am often asked why I don’t put prices on my website. In this post, I’m going to answer some questions about Piano Tuning Cost & Piano Moving Cost.

Imagine you asked a car mechanic how much it would cost to repair a car. It made strange noises and you were shopping for the best rate from several car repair places. I bet the first question you’d get is what kind of car you have, and then they would tell you that they would have to take a look before they could give you an estimate.

After all, it would make a huge difference in price whether you had a Toyota or a BMW, a Volkswagen or a Mercedes. And that’s not the end of it. They need to know which model it is, i.e., whether your Toyota is a Corolla, a Camry, a Prius, or a Highlander.

And so it is with pianos…

Piano Tuning Cost

So when someone calls me to find out how much I charge for tuning a piano, I usually Continue reading →

Church Piano Tuning And Repair

church piano tuningPianos in churches require more regular care than pianos in private homes. And that means that church piano tuning and repair services need to be performed more frequently.

Why would that be? There are several reasons.

The piano needs to stay in tune, especially when multiple instruments play together. If the piano is out of tune, it’s impossible to make the music sound right.

Of course you know that a piano needs to be in tune, so why is it a bigger deal when it comes to pianos in churches?

Church Piano Tuning Needs And Temperature

The biggest challenges are caused by the fact that the temperature and Continue reading →

Richmond Piano Repair & Restringing

Richmond piano repair restringingDoes your piano sound tubby? Has it lost its brightness? As pianos get older, they may need some extra TLC. Fortunately, it’s nothing that our Richmond Piano Repair & Restringing services can’t fix.

What about piano tuning! Yes, that’s definitely something you need to get done at least once a year, or more often, depending on your piano’s particular situation. And when I tune a piano, I also fix minor issues that I find, including sticking keys and such.

But as the piano gets older, sometimes it needs repairs that go beyond the basics. Here are just a few things that may have to be fixed…

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Richmond Piano Tuner: Now Tuning In More Richmond Neighborhoods

richmond piano tunerFor years, I have been tuning pianos in the Central Virginia area, but stayed mostly in the periphery of Richmond proper. This is now changing.

I’m actively expanding into a range of City of Richmond neighborhoods and look forward to providing my piano tuning and repair services to the piano owners in Richmond proper as well.

I’m particularly looking to expand in the following areas, in no particular order: Three Chopt, University of Richmond, Willow Lawn, Windsor Farms, Tuckahoe, Bon Air, Glen Allen, Woodlake, Wyndham, Stony Point, Huguenot, Grove Avenue, and all areas in between. In addition, I’ll be happy to tune and service pianos in the VCU area, as well as in the Fan, the Museum District, and Monument Avenue.

Now, that it’s hot and humid, it’s especially important to keep an eye on your piano to ensure it will continue to work properly. If you find signs that it has been affected by the heat and humidity, be sure to have it checked.

Of course, I’ll happily do a complimentary climate control check whenever I tune a piano, Continue reading →

Summer Piano Care Tips

summer piano careIt’s been mighty hot for months now. With that kind of heat and humidity, your piano needs special care. So I’ve written up some summer piano care tips to help you make sure your piano will continue to sound great.

As you know, I’m an expert piano tuner, and I tune pianos all over Central Virginia and the Greater Richmond Area. If you’re not sure your climate control is adequate for your piano, or whether the A/C vents are too close, I’ll be happy to check it out while I do a tuning, and make suggestions for how to remedy the situation.

Summer Piano Care Tips

What to look out for:

1) Consistent room temperature

It’s important to keep the temperature of your home (or at least the room where you keep your piano) relatively consistent all year long. Normal “room temperature” – in the low to mid 70s – is perfect.

2) Consistent humidity

Next, you should also be sure to keep the humidity levels steady throughout the year. This means Continue reading →

Central Virginia Piano Repair Expanding To New Kent County

piano repairBlanton Bendall of Southern Piano Service is now offering piano repair services in an expanding are, including New Kent County and Providence Forge. He also repairs pianos in Eastern Hanover and Highland Springs.

How do you know your piano needs repairs?

There are quite a few things that can lead to the need for repair of a piano. From felt that is matted to keys that are sticky or broken to pins that have come loose to broken strings. And that’s just for starters.

Fortunately, most pianos don’t need repair very often. Then again, major repair, including restringing a piano, can get expensive. So before you decide on a major repair project, you should consider the worth of your piano.

Should you have your piano repaired?

A high quality piano is often worth the expense, and so is a piano that has great sentimental value to you. I’ll be happy to make suggestions, but ultimately, the decision lies with you.

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Piano Tuning Hanover County

Piano Tuning HanoverCentral Virginia Piano Tuner Blanton Bendall of Southern Piano Service always had a soft spot for his Hanover county clients. After all, that’s where he grew up – in Montpelier, to be precise. And so he has decided to expand his services from mostly Western Hanover to offer his full range of Piano services to ALL of Hanover county, starting with Piano tuning in Hanover County.

So what does “full range” of piano services mean?  It includes just about anything piano-related you could possibly need, including piano cleaning, repair, and even piano restringing services. Blanton is happy to provide whatever piano services his Hanover County (and other) customers may need.

And that’s not all! Sometimes, it’s necessary to move and/or store a piano temporarily, for a range of reasons. Continue reading →