I'm Eberhard Halvorsen. I tune, regulate, and repair acoustic pianos for homes, churches, recording studios, and concert halls across the Portland metro area. I've been doing this since 1994, am a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) with the Piano Technicians Guild, and I service roughly 640 pianos a year — including the Steinway B at Reed College Chapel and the Bösendorfer at First Presbyterian. If your piano has been out of tune for five years, sounds thin in the upper register, or has keys that don't return properly — those are three different problems with three different fixes. I can help with all of them.
Aural-verified fine tuning to A-440 concert pitch. 90 minutes for a well-maintained piano; longer if the piano is flat or in rough shape. I use a Cybertuner ETD as starting reference then tune aurally through the temperament; every unison is checked by ear.
Required when a piano has drifted 20+ cents flat (typical for a piano untuned for 3+ years). I make an overpull pass to stabilize tension, then return for a fine tuning. Ideally split across two visits; for stable pianos I can do both in one 2.5-hour visit. Price includes the return visit if needed within 60 days.
Regulating the action is adjusting roughly 40 points per key so every hammer responds identically. Most pianos need full regulation every 15-20 years; partial regulation (let-off, key height, let-down) sooner. A full regulation on a grand takes 14-20 hours over 3-4 visits. Dramatic difference in touch and control.
Needling or lacquering hammers to change tone color — warmer, brighter, or more even across registers. This is where a mediocre-sounding piano becomes beautiful. I voice conservatively; I'd rather do three light sessions over a year than one aggressive one you regret.
Broken strings, sluggish keys, broken hammers, split bridges, pedal issues, soundboard buzzes, key-top replacement, damper repairs. I carry common parts in my van; harder repairs I'll quote before ordering. I don't recommend repair on pianos where the cost exceeds replacement value — I'll say so honestly.
Thinking of buying a piano? I'll meet you at the seller's home and spend 45-60 minutes assessing condition: soundboard, pinblock, bridges, action wear, voicing potential, honest resale value, and whether the seller's asking price is fair. I've saved buyers from $8k mistakes; I've also green-lit $1,200 bargains. Flat $225 fee.
I started tuning in 1994 after four years of apprenticeship with Margarethe Bryn-Halvorsen, my mother, and six years of classical piano study at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge. I earned my RPT in 1998 after passing the PTG's written, tuning, and technical exams; I've maintained continuous active status since. I've attended the annual PTG convention 21 of the last 28 years and co-taught the bass tuning class in 2017 and 2022.
I work alone — no employees, no subcontractors. Every piano I tune, I tune. If you book me, I'm the person who shows up. I service homes in every Portland zip code plus Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, West Linn, Oregon City, Gresham, and Vancouver WA. Concert and institutional clients include Reed College Chapel (Steinway B since 2002), First Presbyterian Downtown (Bösendorfer 225 since 2008), The Old Church Concert Hall (Mason & Hamlin BB), Cornell Church, Kell's Irish Restaurant (upright, 30+ yrs), plus most of the piano faculty at Lewis & Clark and Portland State.
Travel within Portland proper is included. Outlying metro areas add a flat travel fee ($25-45). A tuning visit typically runs 90 minutes; pitch raises take longer. I accept cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, and all major cards. No hidden fees.
"Eberhard has tuned our family's 1962 Steinway L since 2003. Twenty-two years, twice a year, same man. When our daughter started her senior recital prep, he came out at 7am the morning of so the piano would be perfect at 3pm. That's a professional and a friend."
"We inherited my grandmother's 1928 Mason & Hamlin and were told by two shops it was 'not worth restoring.' Eberhard spent 40 minutes looking at the piano, explained exactly what it needed, gave us an honest $4,200 estimate, and did the work over six weeks. Eight years later it sounds better than the Steinway at my sister's house."
"I tune the Bösendorfer at First Pres and the Steinway at the Old Church, so I'm picky. Eberhard is the tuner I trust in Portland when I'm out of town. Musicians know — when he walks into a room, the piano is going to be right."
I return every voicemail within one business day, usually same-day. I schedule visits in geographic clusters (Eastside Mondays and Thursdays, Westside Tuesdays and Fridays, Wednesdays for concert/institutional), so lead times vary by neighborhood. Typical lead time is 10-14 days for homes, faster for urgent needs.
For a piano in a stable indoor environment (reasonably consistent humidity, not next to a heat vent, not near an exterior door that lets cold in), twice a year is ideal — once after the dry winter, once after the humid summer. Once a year is acceptable if the piano is lightly played and the room is climate-controlled. Professional or serious-student pianos often need quarterly tuning. A piano that has gone 3+ years untuned has probably dropped enough in pitch that it needs a pitch raise rather than a standard tuning, which is why I price that separately.
Often yes, in Portland. Our winters are dry indoors (30% RH or below) and our summers are humid (65%+). A piano holds tuning best between 42% and 45% RH. A Dampp-Chaser climate-control system installed on the piano holds that range year-round and dramatically reduces tuning drift — my clients with systems need tuning less often and see fewer soundboard and action problems. Installed system runs $900-1,100 for a grand; I install about 40 a year. Not mandatory, but usually worth it if you care about the piano.
Yes. Give the piano at least 2-3 weeks in its new location before tuning — longer if you moved between significantly different climates. The wood needs to equilibrate with the new room's humidity, and the soundboard and pinblock will settle. Tuning a freshly-moved piano is a waste of money; it'll drift back immediately. If you need a tuning urgently after a move (recital in two weeks), a light tuning can be done but budget for a follow-up in 4-6 weeks.
Almost always yes. Age alone is not a problem — the question is whether the pinblock still holds the pins tightly, the soundboard has no major cracks or separations, and the action can be regulated. Most 60-80 year-old pianos from reputable makers (Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Baldwin, Knabe, Kawai, Yamaha, Bösendorfer) are still excellent instruments. I'll tell you at the first visit whether your piano should be tuned, restrung, rebuilt, or replaced — honestly, in dollar terms.
No — digital pianos generate sound electronically and never drift in pitch, so there is nothing to tune. If your digital piano sounds wrong, it's a software/firmware issue or a failing speaker, which needs the manufacturer's service center. I only work on acoustic pianos: grands, uprights, spinets, consoles, studios.
A pitch raise is louder and more aggressive — I'm moving each string's tension by several pounds, which makes a distinct "pinging" sound as pins grip and slip. A fine tuning afterward is quieter and more precise. Expect about 2 hours of sound during a pitch raise + fine tune; my regular clients often run errands while I work. I bring quiet shoes, move carefully around the house, and leave everything cleaner than I found it.