General
FAQ
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How long have Pianoworks been operating?We started the business in 1994 from our home mainly servicing pianos, then moved into the CBD in 2001. We moved to our current location in 2004.
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What is different about your business and why should we deal with you?Pianoworks from day one has had a clear focus on providing our customers with a great experience whether for service work on their pianos, finding the best pianos for their requirements or supplying the varied needs of musicians with their print music queries.
Graeme is a Australasian Registered Piano Technician and brings the performance quality aspect of pianos into focus, so all the pianos we sell are well setup and will perform well for many years of musical enjoyment.
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What areas do Pianoworks cover for servicing pianos?Generally we limit our regular work to the Taranaki region, however as we have sold pianos all around the place and we like to cover the initial servicing ourselves we do plan longer journey’s from time to time. Talk to us as we can often time a visit to you on one of these trips.
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What products do you sell other than pianos?We are the exclusive NZ agent for Wertheim pianos and MusicFolder.Com choir and band folders. We also stock Casio and Korg ranges of keyboards and digital pianos, a Print Music agency from Piano Traders Ltd NZ’s biggest print music supplier. We stock orchestral stringed instruments, Ukulele’s and stacks of music accessories too numerous to detail here. Visit us if you can or enquire online.
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Can you recommend us a good music teacher in our area?Yes, we have a great relationship with nearly all local teachers and can provide lists of teachers covering most instruments and music styles to assist in your search.
Buying a new piano FAQ
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What brands should I consider when looking for a new piano?There are many brands in the market and many are up to a good standard, so we recommend looking and playing examples of several brands to get a sense of performance, quality and value comparatively speaking. You may be aware of well known and respected brands, some of which may be in higher price categories – ‘Steinway and Sons’ is an example, but there are also a number of relatively unknown brands that provide great performance and value.
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Many new pianos look the same, how do I tell the difference between them?Most piano factories are using latest high tech manufacturing techniques in their factories to make pianos and in general nearly all can product fine looking cabinetry, high polished finishes etc. The more important area to consider is the quality of the critical tonal components, hammers, strings and soundboard, and of course how the manufacturer has brought the best out of those components. So, playing the piano and assessing the touch and the tone should be a main priority.
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How should I decide on the right piano for our situation?We recommend talking with a Registered Piano Technician as a start point as they will likely be looking after the piano for you for long after you have bought it. The key when shopping around is for the salesperson to ask the right questions, i.e. Who will be playing it? Young beginner or seasoned musician? What level of playing is the piano required to perform to? We suggest our clients consider the future level the pianist/s the piano is for, and the level they will attain in a few years.
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How important is a good warranty?Piano warranties are generally very good considering the number of parts that make up a piano. A manufacturer based warranty is a way for the maker to tell you of their confidence in the product they make. Most new pianos carry a 10 year warranty or longer. Read the fine print as some are covering parts only, with a reduced labour cover.
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What do Pianoworks offer that is different from other piano retailers?One of our points of difference is one of the most important when considering buying a new piano. We are a small family based business with a Registered Piano Technician as one of the partners which brings a focus of looking at pianos from the inside out, and as a consequence backing our pianos in a more involved way with ongoing service. We know our products well and provide a depth of knowledge and experience when you are looking for a new piano.
Buying a used piano FAQ
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I’ve been offered a piano for low cost (or even free), so is this a good deal?Generally no, as pianos wear out and become uneven to play, untunable in many cases and structurally fragile. There can be exceptions but in general these pianos can be more of a hindrance to a young emerging pianist than a help. In this situation it would pay to get the piano assessed before taking it on.
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Are the older brands better than newer ones?Over the years here have been a number of wonderful piano makers, but generally speaking, unless these older pianos have had substantial rebuilding work done they simply won’t perform as well as a newer piano of reasonable quality. There are exceptions but we recommend you look at later model, 30 to 40 year old, used pianos to get the best long term value from your purchase. Newer pianos tend to have a better dynamic range of tone, more even touch response, nicer to service and more appealing in the home.
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Should I buy privately or from a dealer?We have helped many people buy in the private market by providing professional assessments and advice. We take an impartial view and provide an honest appraisal. We have helped many people over the years avoid buying a less than ideal instrument. As a dealer, we’d love you to take a look at the range of used pianos we have, all of which are fully serviced, regulated, tuned and voiced to get the optimum from each instrument. We offer a comprehensive 5 year warranty on all our used pianos as well as an after sale complimentary tuning and delivery (free in our local area and subsidised to other locations). Peace of mind means a lot to most people.
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What is the price range of Pianoworks used pianos?With the cost of servicing being a significant factor in determining if a piano remains economic to prepare and good value to our customers, we choose our pianos very carefully. These considerations and the work we put into getting them into a standard of presentation we are happy with generally sets the pricing from a minimum of $2000, more typically $3000 to $5000 providing a better selection of later model instruments. We recommend setting a budget as high as you are comfortable with to be certain your purchase provides lasting performance and value into the future.
Piano services
FAQ
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How often should my piano be tuned?We suggest your piano be tuned twice per year as most piano manufacturers do, though in many cases once per year is fine. Pianos should always be tuned before concerts and performances.
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What if my piano hasn’t been tuned for years?Usually we need to bring the pitch up to the correct level before the piano can be tuned, we call this pre-tuning pitch correction. Depending on the previous pitch we may need to run over the tuning 2 or 3 times before the tuning is stable at the new pitch.
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Where should we place the piano in our home?It is recommended that your piano (or any musical instrument) be kept out of direct sunlight and away from direct heat and ventilation sources. Ideally if the space is comfortable for people it should be fine for your piano, not too hot or too cold or damp.
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What other care does my piano require?Regular tuning is the most basic service that should be performed at least each year, however all pianos require more in depth adjustment work to the action mechanism (regulation) usually at 5 year intervals or more frequent for heavily used pianos. This adjusts for wear, felt compaction, string cuts on the strike surface of the hammers etc, and returns the touch to factory specs.
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Whats my piano worth?To establish a value on a piano requires inspection of the instrument, along with consideration of brand, age and market conditions at the time. Contact us if you require a valuation for selling or insurance purposes.
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Who can move our piano for us?We move the pianos we buy and sell, and can offer this service for clients if the access is straight forward. For difficult access and stairways we can recommend professional movers with a bigger team. Call us to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to assist in whatever way we can.
Wertheim Pianos
Wertheim pianos are built to the highest quality level with rich European tone and silky smooth playing actions to give you the ultimate piano experience.
Piano Tuning
Piano Tuning is our most requested service, and we work hard to deliver great results. If your piano doesn’t sound right or the notes don’t work properly call us on 06 7583114 or contact us here to arrange for our registered piano technician to get it playing and sounding right.
PianoDisc
PianoDisc systems can be added to pianos of virtually any size, style or make, turning them into modern player pianos. Whether you have a grand piano or an upright, a new piano or used, PianoDisc has a system for you.
$7,299.00
Wertheim W121 in ebony polish is a 121 cm tall professional upright piano with extended scaling and floating bridge for enhanced European warm sound.
Finance Options for: Wertheim W121 - Price $7299
$63.25 weekly over 36 months
$86.54 weekly over 24 months
$157.33 weekly over 12 months
Add to cart 
$12,999.00
Wertheim WE123 Euro Piano featuring high grade tonal components, the critical stuff - soundboard, hammers and strings from German suppliers providing the piano with a warm European sound.
Finance Options for: Wertheim W123 at $12,999
$112.07 weekly over 36 months
$153.42 weekly over 24 months
$279.12 weekly over 12 months
Add to cart