San Diego's Heirloom Piano Specialist
Antique Piano Tuning in San Diego — Some Instruments Deserve More Than a Standard Appointment
Specializing in pre-1950 uprights, parlor grands, and heirloom instruments that require patience, precision, and someone who actually understands what they're working with.
Serving San Diego County • Honest Assessment First
A PERSONAL HISTORY
I Know What You Have :
Because I Have One Too
My piano is a 1902 Hobart M. Cable, found in a church basement with no history and no player. My father, a minister, brought it home. I taught myself on it as a kid, wrote my own songs on it, refused to play hymns on it, and when I moved out on my own my mother gave it to me as a gift. It has lived in the Palm Springs desert, the mountains of Colorado, and now the California coast.
The first professional tuner who ever looked at it couldn't find it in his reference books. He went back to his truck. Got older books. Came back. Still nothing. Finally, deep in a guide most tuners never open, he found it: 1902 Hobart M. Cable, Chicago. He closed the book, looked at me, and offered me five figures cash on the spot.
I still have that piano. I refurbished it back to its original condition. It is in perfect pitch today. I tell you this not to impress you: but because I want you to understand that when I come to look at your vintage instrument, I already know what it is. I already respect it. And I already know what it takes to keep it alive.
TECHNICAL WARNING
Most Tuners Should Not
Touch a Vintage Piano
This is not a criticism - it is just the truth. A standard tuning appointment on a modern instrument takes 60 to 90 minutes and follows a predictable process. A vintage instrument is an entirely different proposition.
- Fragile tuning pins: Overtighten them and they strip, causing a serious problem on a century-old instrument.
- Aged strings under tension: Move them too fast and they snap, and replacements for pre-1920 models are hard to find.
- Weathered soundboards: They have endured climate cycles modern pianos haven't - crack it, and the tone may be lost forever.
Tuning a vintage piano correctly means going slower. Much slower. Listening differently. Adjusting in smaller increments. Knowing when to stop and when to keep going. It takes more time, more patience, and more experience than a standard appointment - and it should cost accordingly.
A tuner who quotes you a standard rate for a vintage instrument either doesn't know what they're dealing with or doesn't care. Neither is someone you want near your piano.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Every Vintage Instrument Gets
Its Own Conversation First
I do not quote antique and vintage piano work without knowing what I am working with. A piano from 1902 is not a piano from 1955. The wood is different. The pins are different. The strings are different. The history is different.
Before any work begins on a vintage instrument I want to know its age, its condition, how long it has been since its last tuning, what climate it has lived in, and what you are hoping to achieve. Some vintage pianos need a careful single tuning. Some need a pitch raise first - a slow preliminary adjustment across multiple sessions before a fine tuning is even possible. Some need minor repairs before tuning is advisable. Some are in better shape than their owners realize.
I will tell you honestly what your instrument needs, what is realistic, and what it will cost before I touch a single key. No surprises. No pressure. Just a straight assessment from someone who has been doing this a long time and genuinely loves the instrument.
These Are Not Just Pianos
Vintage and antique pianos carry weight that modern instruments simply do not. They belonged to someone. They sat in a parlor, a church, a schoolroom, a family home for a hundred years before they ended up in yours. They survived moves, estates, storage units, and decades of silence. When you call about a vintage piano you are almost never just calling about a piano - you are calling about something that mattered to someone you loved, or something you rescued because you recognized what it was, or something that has been part of your family's story longer than anyone alive can remember. I understand that. I treat every vintage instrument accordingly. And I will never do anything to yours that I would not do to my 1902 Hobart M. Cable.
TRANSPARENT PROCESS
What a Vintage Assessment
Looks Like
01
Submission
We start with a conversation - by form - where you tell me what you have, how old it is, and what condition it appears to be in.
02
In-Person Inspection
If the instrument is a candidate for tuning or restoration work, I will schedule an in-person assessment. I will carefully inspect the pins, strings, soundboard, action, and overall condition.
03
Honest Evaluation
I will give you an honest evaluation of what the instrument needs, what is achievable, and what it will cost. The assessment itself is always a conversation - never a sales pitch.
Vintage Piano Services -
Priced Per Instrument, Never Per Hour
Because every antique and vintage piano is unique, all vintage work is quoted individually following an assessment. Pricing reflects the actual time, care, and expertise required - not a standard rate applied to a non-standard instrument. Vintage tuning appointments typically take significantly longer than standard appointments and are priced accordingly.
ASSESSMENT
Vintage Assessment
In-person evaluation of condition, tuning stability, pin integrity, string condition, and soundboard health. Includes honest recommendations and a clear quote before any work begins.
Contact us to schedule.
TUNING
Vintage Tuning
Full professional tuning performed slowly and carefully on pre-1950 instruments. Every adjustment made in small increments to protect fragile pins and strings. Time and pricing quoted individually following assessment.
Quoted per instrument.
ADVANCED
Vintage Pitch Raise & Tuning
For instruments that have been untuned for years or decades. A preliminary pitch raise session followed by a fine tuning appointment - the only responsible approach for a severely flat vintage instrument.
Quoted per instrument.
Multiple sessions may be required.
122 Years of Proof That the
Right Hands Make All the Difference
My 1902 Hobart M. Cable is not in perfect condition because I got lucky. It is in perfect condition because I have spent decades learning how to listen to an old instrument, how to move carefully inside it, and how to respect what it has already survived. That piano has been through more climate extremes than most instruments see in a lifetime — and it still sounds the way it should. If you have a vintage instrument that deserves that kind of attention, I would genuinely love to hear about it.
What Vintage Piano Owners
Are Saying
★★★★★
"He treated my grandmother's 1890 upright with absolute reverence. Watching him work was like watching a master craftsman. The emotional connection we have to this instrument is completely preserved."
Eleanor S.
1890 Upright Owner
★★★★★
"I was terrified to let anyone touch our century-old parlor grand. The level of care and deep respect shown here was unmatched. It sings again."
Marcus & David T.
Parlor Grand Care
★★★★★
"It is rare to find someone who understands that these aren't just pieces of furniture. He listened to its history before opening the lid. True dedication to preservation."
Sarah Jenkins
Antique Collector
★★★★★
"Our heirloom has survived four generations. The patience and precise care taken to bring it back to pitch without stressing the strings brought tears to my eyes."
Robert M.
Family Heirloom
Your Vintage Piano Survived a Century.
Let's Make Sure It Sounds Like It.
Every vintage instrument deserves an honest assessment from someone who understands what it is - and what it means.
Serving all of San Diego County for vintage and antique piano work - because instruments like yours are worth the drive.
The Founder
What I Hear That Most People Don't
Hi...I'm jimi Lee,
Best known for my award-winning nightclub SUGARKUBE and a production company known for uncompromising sound and world-class touring acts.
That standard didn't come from ambition alone.
I was born with a rare perceptual condition that makes sound physical to me. Doctors have confirmed it. It has shaped everything — including why a piano even slightly out of tune is something I simply cannot walk away from.
I was also raised with one rule: leave things better than you found them. I also have a proclivity for vintage music gear.
Those two things together are why I tune pianos the way I do.
I work until it stops hurting.
Expert tuning and preservation for antique, vintage, and heirloom pianos.
Serving all of San Diego County for vintage and antique piano work.
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Preserving the voice of history, one century-old instrument at a time.
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