Hertfordshire’s independent piano Supplier
Located in the picturesque market town of Hitchin – our premises dated back to the 16th century. Which consisted of our restoration workshop and several showrooms, where we had our pianos on display and a wide variety of accessories, including stools and a room full of second-hand music.
What We Do
Tuning Service
Having your piano tuned by us will give you peace of mind that the work is carried out to the highest standard, ensuring an accurate, stable and lasting tuning. All pianos should be tuned regularly, about twice a year is normal for a domestic piano that is played frequently. Tuning starting from just £85.00.
Rental Scheme
Our very popular and affordable rental scheme was designed give you a piano in your home for very little financial commitment. With just two months minimum rental period you weren’t locked into any long-term commitment and you got all the tunings included. Delivery fee is just £100 for all local customers taking an upright piano and with monthly rent from £25 there really is no excuse. Which was why our scheme was so popular .Terms & Conditions apply.
New & Used Pianos
In our shop you used to discover a wide variety of fine quality traditional instruments, modern second-hand and some older instruments, plus a variety of finishes; from traditional French polish to modern poly-gloss. Our expert team were on hand if needed, to help you find a piano to match your playing abilities as well as matching the right piano to the environment it will be living in.
We not only sold and rented pianos but were very well known for our workshops were we had some brilliant technicians who were capable of taking your old piano and giving it a new lease of life. Sometimes just 2 or 3 days work replacing some worn components could transform a tired, rattly old action into something that felt young again. Other times they could take months of work when a full root & branch restoration was required.
We offer a comprehensive restoration service to bring your piano back to life. No job is too big or small. Get in touch to discuss your requirements.
Buying Old Stock
We no longer buy and sell pianos or associated items, but if your piano is a fine quality instrument or cabinet or both you might find the piano auctions held in Watford to be a great way to sell it.
Contact Piano Auctions Ltd on 01234 831742 or [email protected]
Upcycling
Pianos last a long time but do not last forever. Often the cost of restoring is so much more than can be justified that they cease to be practical musical instruments and become large decorative ornaments that can make some discordant twangy noises if pressed into service.
Past, Present & Future
Established in 1978 by Richard Reason, a music teacher, performer & composer.
Joined in 1985 by me, Rupert Frost a newly qualified piano tuner, technician & frustrated piano player who knew from a very early stage that I would never be good enough to make a career playing or teaching the piano but still loved the instrument and had the good fortune to be introduced to piano maintenance when still a teenager by my piano teacher. I knew instantly this was what I wanted to do and lucky enough to be accepted into one of the last technical colleges for piano maintenance in Commercial Road London (sadly no longer in existence) where it would take 4 years of practical & theoretical study to master all the aspects of piano work.
For the next 15 years Richard & I made a formidable team with Richard driving the business whilst I ran the workshops with a team of restorers, polishers & tuners. We also had a succession of apprentices working alongside our more senior technicians learning the skills to make a career in the piano industry. There are many tuners and restorers currently working both locally and further afield who developed their passion for piano work in our workshops.
In the year 2000 after 22 years at the helm Richard stepped aside to concentrate on his flourishing piano auction business leaving me and the team to take control.
Here we are, a further 22 years later in 2022 and I am still in charge of this fabulous workshop. Although much has stayed the same we have also had to adapt to changing markets and due to changing tastes in interior design and furniture styles. We still refuse to have anything to do with electric keyboards (no they are not just like the real thing!) and do very little restoration of the older early 20th century pianos but we do concentrate on brand new and younger second hand instruments, pianos built with glues and other modern materials strong enough to allow the sensitive mechanisms to withstand the warmer dryer centrally heated atmospheres we all want to live in these days and therefore are much easier to restore to a good stable, reliable condition than the older pre 1960s models that use a lot of solid woods and animal based glues which had been used since the very earliest 18th & 19th century instruments. These old style glues dry out in central heating causing constant maintenance problems.
We are also finding we are having to spend most of out time tuning in our customers homes, schools & theatres.
Piano tuners are becoming rarer and rarer as many of the older generation are retiring, but it takes many years to learn to tune & repair a piano and with so few avenues for new tuners to learn the skills we are receiving requests from further and further afield, taking us away from the workshop and leaving less time to take on the big restoration projects. Tuning is the biggest part of our business these days and as a consequence I can’t always be in the workshop, but I do make sure I get there at least 2 or 3 times a week to keep the renovation projects moving forward.
It is difficult to predict if I will still be here in another 22 years but as long as my ears continue to work and pianos still need tuning and servicing, I can’t imagine a better way to spend my time.
UPDATE FOR JULY 2025
It turns out that I won’t be in this shop for another 22 years as I need to stop lifting heavy pianos and the Landlords have been granted planning permission to turn this old shop & workshop into a house. With the lease up for renewal in August I had a decision to make about my future. As I am getting older I am finding pianos are getting heavier and heavier and buying and selling pianos inevitably involves moving them and often lifting them about the workshop. It also transpires that the older I get the more I love being out and about tuning pianos in customers homes. It was a tough decision but I couldn’t justify the overheads of a Hitchin town centre shop and only open up for a couple of days a week.
I can operate a tuning round without the shop So sadly, the shop will close for good in August 2025. Please continue to contact me for Tunings and repairs on my usual numbers 07799125007 and email [email protected] but please don’t ask me to ever move a piano again!
Thank you for to all of you for reading this far, I hope to tune your piano soon
Rupert
Past, Present & Future
Established in 1978 by Richard Reason, a music teacher, performer & composer.
Joined in 1985 by me, Rupert Frost a newly qualified piano tuner, technician & frustrated piano player who knew from a very early stage that I would never be good enough to make a career playing or teaching the piano but still loved the instrument and had the good fortune to be introduced to piano maintenance when still a teenager by my piano teacher. I knew instantly this was what I wanted to do and lucky enough to be accepted into one of the last technical colleges for piano maintenance in Commercial Road London (sadly no longer in existence) where it would take 4 years of practical & theoretical study to master all the aspects of piano work.
For the next 15 years Richard & I made a formidable team with Richard driving the business whilst I ran the workshops with a team of restorers, polishers & tuners. We also had a succession of apprentices working alongside our more senior technicians learning the skills to make a career in the piano industry. There are many tuners and restorers currently working both locally and further afield who developed their passion for piano work in our workshops.
In the year 2000 after 22 years at the helm Richard stepped aside to concentrate on his flourishing piano auction business leaving me and the team to take control.
Here we are, a further 22 years later in 2022 and I am still in charge of this fabulous workshop. Although much has stayed the same we have also had to adapt to changing markets and due to changing tastes in furniture styles. We still refuse to have anything to do with electric keyboards (no they are not just like the real thing!) and do very little restoration of the older early 20th century pianos but we do concentrate on brand new and younger second hand instruments, pianos built with glues and other modern materials strong enough to allow the sensitive mechanisms to withstand the warmer dryer centrally heated atmospheres we all want to live in these days and therefore are much easier to restore to a good stable, reliable condition than the older pre 1960s models that use a lot of solid woods and animal based glues that had been used since the very earliest 18th & 19th century instruments. These old style glues dry out in central heating causing constant maintenance problems.
We are also finding we are having to spend most of out time tuning in our customers homes, schools & theatres.
Piano tuners are becoming rarer and rarer as many of the older generation are retiring, but it takes many years to learn to tune & repair a piano and with so few avenues for new tuners to learn the skills we are receiving requests from further and further afield, taking us away from the workshop and leaving less time to take on the big restoration projects. Tuning is the biggest part of our business these days and as a consequence I can’t always be in the workshop, but I do make sure I get there at least 2 or 3 times a week to keep the renovation projects moving forward.
It is difficult to predict if I will still be here in another 22 years but as long as my ears continue to work and pianos still need tuning and servicing, I can’t imagine a better way to spend my time.
Rupert