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ROBERTS PIANOS

Showroom and General Office: 87, St. Clements Street
Oxford, OX4 1AR Tel/Fax: (01865) 240634
Workshop: 4-6 Newtec Place, Magdalen Rd., Oxford OX4 1RE.

Last Revision: 9/06/2019

TERMS OF GUARANTEE AND NOTES ON PIANO CARE.
Please pay special attention to comments about humidity.

All pianos purchased or hired from Roberts Pianos carry a full guarantee against any mechanical defect. This is on the condition that they are tuned at least once a year by a tuner recommended by us.

1. Never put a piano in direct sunlight or with a radiator or other heat source radiating towards the piano. Also, avoid walls with radiators on the wall behind in the adjoining room. IF YOU HAVE UNDERFLOOR CENTRAL HEATING PLEASE MONITOR EVERY WEEK FOR THE FIRST MONTH AND THEN EVERY MONTH FOR THE FIRST YEAR. You will probably need to purchase an isolation mat; please enquire.

MONITOR YOUR PIANO – DRYING OUT CAN KILL IT:
The best way to determine whether or not your piano is drying out is to monitor the pitch as follows: using a smartphone tuning app such as “Clear Tune” for Apple or “gString” or “Wave” for Android, test the pitch. When it was delivered it was set between A440 and A444. Check the pitch on delivery and check it again after a week. If the pitch has dropped more than two beats (A440 to A438 or A444 to A442) then the piano is drying out and moisture needs to be added to the room urgently. If the piano has new strings such as one just restrung or a new piano, then the pitch may drop at first and monitoring will need to be done using a humidity gauge.

If you have a humidity gauge (we recommend this one from ThermoPro) then try to maintain a humidity of between 50% and 70%, and be especially vigilant during frosty weather and hot dry periods. This is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for all pianos. A centrally heated room of 150-sq. ft. may need about 1/3 gallon of water per day to be added when the heating is functioning. This can be distributed in various ways including the following:

Room humidifiers (available from the Early Keyboard Agency Tel.:01235 812899), Humidifiers that hang on radiators. These can be brought from hardware or DIY stores. Tropical plants that like a lot of watering; window troughs above radiators or elsewhere.

2. Never put any liquid or plants on the piano.
Traditional pianos can be polished using beeswax furniture polish; re-finished or modern pianos in polyester only require dusting – marks can be cleaned with a damp cloth (this includes the keys). The use of aerosols on polyester finishes is not recommended.

3. Take care that young children don’t play the piano using hard objects.

4. Six-monthly tuning.
Whilst the piano is under guarantee it is essential that when you have it tuned, you use one of our tuners or someone we recommend. Your piano should be tuned and checked regularly. Six monthly is the recommended interval although the first tuning is likely to be necessary after about 3 months. A tuner may contact you at that time, or if not please contact us either on the above number or call the appropriate tuner for your area as listed below. There will be a charge for tuning.

Guildford area: Tim Wrench 01483 505928 Mobile 0374 171693
Portsmouth area: Steve Venn 023 9282 6126. Mobile 07803 595915
Other areas: Contact us on 01865 240634 or via email

By following these simple guidelines you can be sure of years of trouble-free service from your piano.

N.B. Please retain your receipt. This helps us identify the piano should you ever require service or wish to sell it back to us in the future, This guarantee is not transferable and we cannot offer our guarantee to pianos moved out of Great Britain.

Marcus Roberts B.A.(Mus) MPTA