JOHN RAGUSA, RPT 7318 PONDEROSA DRIVE TAMPA, FLORIDA 33637-6438
I offer a full service for your piano needs. For fastest response, please call (813) 988-0396.
SERVICES OFFERED
Regulation
Besides tuning, I also regulate both grands and vertical pianos. Over time, use and compression of parts make it necessary to readjust the moving parts to factory specifications. I give out brochures that explain in further detail what regulation is. I will even mail them to you free on request.
Voicing
Touch is not the only thing that goes out over time. Hammers harden from the constant hitting into the strings causing the striking surface to become impacted making the tone of the piano too loud or too bright. I can voice the piano to your pleasing. Also it may be necessary to file hammers before voicing. Call or write to me for a free brochure explaining what this service is and why it could bring you to greater appreciation of your musical instrument.
Tightening Screws
This is a very underestimated part of regular piano service. After pianos leave the factory, the wood will lose moisture and parts become loose and wear unevenly, seriously affecting tone, power and the longevity of the affected parts. This is an inexpensive service that is vital to your piano. Also, parts will come out of alignment. Wood can warp or just change shape over time. Making sure parts are well aligned also helps to ensure the longevity of your instrument.
String Replacement
I carry the full range of replacement piano strings. For some of the larger grands, I can also get custom made bass strings for exact duplication. And I have the skills necessary to splice broken bass strings if it is feasible, in order to maintain the exact tone for a particular piano.
Pedal Adjustment
Pedaling is an important part of playing the piano. I will make sure the pedals are adjusted to your satisfaction.
PRODUCTS
I carry a large variety of humidity control products, which under certain conditions, can help maintain your piano's tuning and regulation. I also have a variety of grand caster cups and cleaning, polishing and scratch removing supplies. I also sell piano benches at wholesale prices. (Customer may have to come to my place of business to pick up the bench.)
JOHN RAGUSA, RPT
BIOGRAPHY: At the age of twenty I discovered how much I wanted to play the piano and started taking lessons with a local professional. Shortly after beginning lessons, his piano needed a repair. We could not continue the lesson. We sat around chatting and he mentioned what a nice career I could have as a piano technician. I loved the idea. I didn't act on it right away though. I started college that fall. After a few years of college I decided that I would try my hand at piano service. I enrolled in a school near Cleveland, Ohio. That was my start, and I've been at it for over twenty years. The following year I went on to augment my skills with further education on Long Island, outside of New York City, with a nationally recognized second-generation piano technician, Steve Fairchild. Steve had been teaching for many years at Piano Technicians' Guild Institutes around the country. With him I learned grand rebuilding and reconditioning, as well as an in-depth study of aural piano tuning. After that I moved to Richmond, Virginia, where I worked for Richmond Piano Rebuilders and then for Jordan Kitts Music where I tuned hundreds of pianos, refining the skills necessary for concert quality tuning and regulation. As of this writing, I have been servicing pianos for the entire Hillsborough and South Pasco County area for seventeen years--all the while regularly attending state and national Piano Technicians' Guild Seminars and Institutes. For the last fifteen years, I have been the service technician for all concerts at the Florida State Fair, and for over ten years I have handled piano service for several of the largest cruise lines coming into Port of Tampa (as recently featured in the St. Pete Times http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/07/Floridian/The_Tampa_tuner.shtml ). I maintain a long list of piano teachers that I can recommend, who also recommend me to their students.
PTG AFFILIATION: During my first year in the field, I attended a state convention of the Piano Technicians' Guild in Pennsylvania. I went to their National Institute that following summer in San Francisco. I believe that the most important source for learning piano service anywhere in North America is the Piano Technicians' Guild. All major manufacturers are represented at PTG events by their factory technicians and/or their technical field representatives. Also, independent business people in this field are invited to teach at these invigorating seminars. These are some of the best piano technicians in the world, all brought under one roof at various times of the year throughout the country.
REGISTERED PIANO TECHNICIAN (RPT): Piano service is an essentially unregulated field. Your plumber, electrician, air and heat maintenance technician, and auto mechanic, among others, all must submit to government testing and licensing to work for you. Only the Piano Technicians' Guild http://www.ptg.org/guild.htm serves this function, offering written, bench and tuning tests so that the public can better discern where to begin looking for qualified service personnel. (Piano technicians are not in any way required to affiliate with the PTG, and many do not.) After a member passes this series of tests, that person may assume the title of Registered Piano Technician. Keeping myself closely associated with many of the world's best technicians through PTG helps me to give you and your family a well tuned and dynamically responsive instrument. After all, the time and practice you spend in learning to play call for knowledgeable service. Looking forward to serving you,
