Explore Our Services
Explore what Abi at Hook & Hammer can offer to bring your instrument to it’s best condition, and help you reach your piano perfection.
What do you need?
Hook & Hammer offers a range of services to meet the needs of every instrument. Browse this page to find out what
Do please contact me if you’d like more information, or would like to discuss your needs.
Tuning
-
Designed for pianos tuned within the last 6–12 months, my routine tuning service keeps your instrument at standard concert pitch (usually A440, but look at my other options too). To perform your standard tuning, I meticulously adjust the tension of every string (around 230 of them!) in your piano, balancing unisons to ensure optimal harmony, stability, and tone across the entire keyboard.
-
This service is ideal if your piano has gone several years without service or has dropped significantly below standard pitch. Shifting string tension can drastically affect adjacent notes, so I recommend a two-step process, starting with a measured "overpull" pass to restore baseline tension, immediately followed by a precise fine tuning for stability. The result lets musicians collaborate with greater ease, helps singers to accurately rehearse and perform, and allows the use of pre-recorded or online practice tools.
-
Tailored for professional instrumentalists, recordings, teaching settings, performances, eisteddfodau, examinations, or the discerning ear. We start with a consultation which will determine your specifications for a level of service which goes beyond standard practice, allowing you to control the outcome which can improve your instrument whilst retaining characteristics which are personal to you. I then perform an intensive tuning with the intention is to maximize the piano's tonal resonance and colour whilst retaining stability in demanding performances. This service can include minor action regulation and voicing checks for flawless touch and response.
-
I am happy to help you realise your ideal tuning. With this in mind, an A432 Hz tuning (the "Verdi" Tuning) which is popular in holistic, therapeutic and sound healing communities, offers an alternative tuning method. For a Verdi Tuning the A above middle C (A4) which is conventionally tuned to 440 Hz is tuned to 432 Hz. The whole of the piano is set in relation to this frequency, and the temperament is compensated accordingly. Verdi Tuning is often theorised to be mathematically aligned with the natural vibrations (Schumann resonances) of the human body, the environment and the universe in which we live.
-
Bespoke Tuning is my specialist service for instruments and musical projects that require something beyond standard tuning. Whether you're a performer, collector, composer or enthusiast, each tuning is individually designed to suit your instrument, repertoire and musical goals.
This service includes historical temperaments for harpsichords and spinnets, sympathetic tuning for more unusual percussive stringed instruments, and custom tuning solutions for unique projects. Whether you require a tuning for contemporary music, non-Western scales and tuning systems, microtonal compositions, historically informed performance, or the distinctive character of a honky-tonk piano, each instrument is carefully adjusted to achieve the desired sound.
I begin every bespoke tuning with a discussion of your requirements to ensure that the tuning complements the performer, the instrument, and the music it is intended to produce. The result is a tailored musical experience that standard equal temperament cannot always provide.
-
Removing old wires, measuring and charting string diameters, and installing new plain steel wire for the treble and custom-wound strings for the bass
Repair
-
Discussing how repairs will best suit your needs
-
Replacing broken strings, sticking keys, and faulty pedals
-
Check-ups to catch minor wear before it turns into costly damage
-
Fundament stabilising, lubrication, and professional advice
Cleaning
-
Sanitisation with a safe, non-bleaching deep clean of ivory, acrylic or plastic key-tops
-
Spring cleaning to pep up playability, removing dust, fluff, and foreign objects
-
A deep internal and external clean to protect your investment and bring life to the finish
-
Eliminating and preventing moths, rodents and other unwanted guests
Maintenance
-
Check-ups to catch minor wear before it turns into costly damage
-
Remedying broken or missing felts, springs, strings, centre pins, leather components, tapes, flanges, etc.
-
Complete sets of components as required
-
Let’s have a conversation
Finishing
-
Cabinet reparation including water mark removal, veneer replacement, dent reconstruction
-
Improving brass finish, whether you want a brilliant mirror-shine or a rich, vintage patina
-
Ultra fine finishing incorporating all natural products with traditional methods for the ultimate grain enhancement
-
Let’s have a conversation
Let me know what you need
Tell me a bit about your piano and I’ll reach out to plan the next steps.