Tuning

As a serious piano tuner/technician, one is a member of the Vereniging voor Pianostemmers Nederland (VvPN). In this way, one stays current with what is happening in the profession. In 1995, I passed the tuning test with good results and was from then on a Certified Piano Tuner (CPT).

I usually take on the average 1,5 hours to tune your piano and to make it a joy to play. The six-monthly rate is €110.00 including 21% VAT and travel expenses. If it has been longer than a year, you will pay between €125.00 and €150.00 (depending on time and effort) including 21% VAT and travel expenses. You are not required to have a subscription; we make appointments as you request. I tune pianos in the area of South Holland.

Marguérite de Muinck Keizer

It is with great pleasure that I write a review of Jos de Ling's work and guidance in the restoration of our grand piano. I inherited the 1950 Steinway S grand piano from my mother because of its emotional value and potential. Jos de Ling came into our lives and gave us expert advice. The restoration took more than six months. It has been a while now, but only since the grand piano has been here (more than six months now) has the full effect of the restoration become clear when playing it. The grand piano invites you to do so with its beautiful warm sound. Throughout the process, Jos kept us well informed with photos and reports. When something unexpected happened, the options were discussed immediately. Looking back and concluding, I can say that Jos is a professional enthusiast with a great deal of know-how, who refurbished our Steinway grand piano with care, attention, and love.

Barbara Stuart

Two years ago it turned out that our aunt’s Steinway grand piano needed a thorough revision. From the very start of the process mr de Ling has proven to be a very reliable and knowledgeable technician. Some problems presented themselves on the way but he solved them all, thereby making the revision less costly. During the whole process he kept us up-to-date with pictures and video’s, explaining which part of the instrument was being worked on at that moment. After finalizing the revision he kindly organized for someone to come and play the instrument when it was still in his workshop and we were all very impressed by its beautiful sound and very happy that this wonderful instrument had come to life again!

Michael Sipman, technical coordinator of the Rotterdamse Schouwburg

Jos de Ling has taken care of the pianos in the Rotterdamse Schouwburg for years. His work is always carried out punctually, in tuning as well as in agreements. Our pianists are always pleased with his work. He also reconditioned our Steinway grand piano and it has been in mint condition ever since.

Baby Dee (restoration Steinway grand)

My manager Richard Guy rescued a 1910 (1911?) Hamburg Steinway Grand piano from a music school in Coventry that was closing. They were actually going to throw it out. It had been donated to the school years ago and never used. Rich found it on it's side, leaned up against a wall. The piano was a mess, barely playable. But it was a Steinway and I had played some wonderful Steinways of the exact same vintage so I was hopeful.

I was not sure how to go about it. I have been a Steinway loyalist all my life but even good companies have their bad periods and I didn't want to pay an ungodly amount of money to have the piano restored by Steinway at a point when Steinway is making/selling/promo-finessing second-rate pianos and naming them after unfriendly cities.

So I asked the best piano player I knew in Holland, Reiner van Houdt, for a recommendation and he told me that he'd played on old Steinways that had been rebuilt by Jos and that they were terrific and that was good enough for me.

And Reinier was not wrong. I've played a lot of good pianos and my Hamburg Steinway sounds and feels every bit as great as those few early Twentieth Century Steinways that I fell in love with when I was 18.

Marie Louise Oosterloo

I met Jos years ago when he came to tune my piano. He did this better than the previous tuner and that gave me confidence in his work. He comes on time to his appointments and when he is delayed, he lets me know in a timely fashion. He is always interested in the state of the instrument and always tunes it to my satisfaction. When I got a 1973 Pleyel grand piano, he reconditioned it beautifully with great professional skill. I played with pleasure on this well functioning piano, which had a well-balanced touch. However, this piano did not produce the ideal tone I sought. Each time Jos came to tune it, I tried to explain to him what I missed and he would set to work again to reach that ideal. And so he gradually came to understand what sort of piano I sought.

After several years, when Jos came to tune my piano, he was elated to report that he had a 1926 Gaveau that might be of interest to me. In consultation with me, he restored this grand piano exactly to my wishes. When it was finished, I could – without obligation – try it out. Immediately, I knew that this was my instrument. Never before had I heard such a beautiful, warm tone, so full of character. It was precisely what I wanted. The wooden case was beautifully restored and the inside was reconditioned with attention to detail and the preservation of the characteristic elements of this vanishing grand piano make. It was “love at first sound”.

Jos takes good care of my Gaveau. Despite the fact that it is an “old timer,” it plays like new but with a characteristic tone color that new instruments have lost. This old lady is so well restored that she takes less maintenance than did the grand piano from 1973. With two good professional tuning sessions per year, the Gaveau produces exactly what I desire from a grand piano.