Raymond Day-Hakker

Name:	Raymond Day-Hakker
Location:	Blayney Australia 2799
Contact:	I am usually available on mobile 0428855003 or if unavailable on 02-63688441. Send Raymond Day-Hakker a message

Additional Info:	Raymond and Nadia Day-Hakker are pleased to assist you. Raymond has a long dedication to the Piano and left School to commence studies in piano making and restoration, tuning and voicing at C.H. McFarland Pianos, Marrickville, in 1970. His main tutor was Horace ( Horri' ) Ingham, an incredibly skilled piano maker. Later Raymond did a short course at the Amsterdam Institute of Piano Making in Holland. Nadia has a great interest and assists in repair regulation and refurbishment with Raymond. Working for musical instrument firms such as "Wadsworth Stamford" and importers, the great "Nicholson's" in George St, Sydney, he gained much experience and was also a freelance composer for the Dep't of Education for music curriculum K to 6 for a number of years before becoming owner of a specialist Stringed Instrument Shop, "Alpine Acoustics", in Katoomba NSW for six years and as Curator of the Blue Mountains Stringed Instruments Museum for five years before moving west to the lovely Central Tablelands. “Centralwestpianos.com” opened in 2005 with the aim to provide people in the central west with world class piano service. Since opening Raymond has renovated dozens of family heirloom pianos, supported many community groups and supplied quality new and pre-loved pianos throughout the district. Some of our Clients. The Union Theatre, Lithgow. The Carrington Theatre Restaurant, Bathurst. The Mitchel Conservatorium, Bathurst.The Assumption Catholic School, Bathurst.The Coolah Cultural Community Centre, Coolah. The Dubbo Conservatorium, Dubbo. The Jenolan Caves House, Jenolan Caves. The Mayfield Gardens Pianos, Oberon. The Paragon Restaurant, Katoomba. The Lithgow Workers Club. The Blayney Shire Council Community Centre. Cold Chisel. The Newnes Hotel, Newnes. The West Baptist Church, Mudgee. The Illumba Retirement Village, Bathurst.The Eglington Public School.The West Bathurst Public School. The Macquarie Retirement village, Bathurst. The Bathurst Nursing Home, Kelso. The Weeroona Nursing Home, Cowra. Centralwestpianos.com recently found a fabulous antique showroom and workshop ideal for pianos which has a history with Pianos. In 1915 the shop was agent for Palings Pianos Australia. Raymond and Nadia are creating Australia's only dedicated Piano Museum, the " Golden Era Pianos Museum". Located in the shire of historic Blayney NSW, 2799, The showroom and adjoining Museum are conveniently located midway between Bathurst Orange and Cowra in the Central West of NSW. Both Centralwestpianos and Golden Era Piano Museum can now be found on Facebook. Filled with photos videos and information. Call us at Centralwestpianos anytime on 02 63688441.
Fees:	Prices for tuning can be as low as $50.00 for a touch up tuning. Most pianos are quick and stable. Regularly tuned Pianos cost $175.00 to-$195,00 to tune using the "Reyburn Cyber Tuning" ( RCT ) system. Recording and calculation of your piano with exceptional linear results. Why Reyburn ? I use "Reyburn", tuning software ( see www.reyburn.com ) now taught and or endorsed in many Conservatoriums around the world including Australia. From my own trials with other products, " Reyburn" software produces the best results as the tuning is linear. If you have not heard a piano tuned like this you are in for a very pleasant surprise! The reason for this dramatic improvement in piano tuning using " Reyburn" software is this. The software uses a recording to calculate and "compensate" for "string stretch". A string is flexible. As a general guide, it will fall in pitch by one percent when raised by ten percent. When you simply tune unison's there is no compensation for how far out of tune the individual string is to the other. Therefore, soon after the unison tuning, the correction and settling of the strings due to stretching takes place. With the new system this occurs during the tuning, not after the tuner has gone. RCT has accurate visual reading, clearly displaying to 1/10th of One percent increments. Customers can for the first time, observe themselves, the accuracy of the tuning. By comparison, all other tuning methods are " guesswork". Gone are sharp basses and flat trebles.. typical results from the old method of tuning pulling to zero with no compensation. Strings are now individually tuned, No unison tuning. No guessing. Using Reyburn software, " A " notes are recorded,important information is gathered and input to the software, e.g. " string length ", "the last wound tenor string". The RCT Tuning can then calculate and produce a unique scale for each piano with a resultant " linear " beautiful and accurate tuning. Preservation Tunings on Historic and older pianos. Each Piano varies in age and condition depending on care and use it has had. Tuning prices can vary greatly depending on these factors. With age comes fragility and often wear, so I must be careful with the pin block and not to break strings, which lose elasticity with age. With tuning I have a saying. "You can't rush an old lady down the stairs." (as she might sprain an ankle or worse break a leg.. ) With older pianos one needs to be gentle, patient and careful not to break strings. Older pianos must be checked for cracking to the string bridges as to pull to concert pitch ( C=523.23 ) a piano with a cracked bridge may place undue strain on the bridge causing it to open further, making tuning unstable even impossible. In these cases and antique pianos, using our Rayburn Software I can now calculate a " Preservation" tuning to suit these pianos. This may be from minus 50c to minus 300c ( % ) That is, up to three semitones ( notes ) below concert pitch, if required. This exciting development means the piano will not be under undue strain and in most cases can be successfully preserved in the family, becoming stable and holding tune after years of neglect. Such tunings usually require a follow up fine tune after settling and can thus save a beautiful piano from being discarded. Preservation tunings require more time and are quoted on an individual basis dependent on the condition of the piano. In the worst case, some string bridges are so badly split or tuning pins so loose ( often sadly caused by tuners who "Jiggle" rather than turn tuning pins ) that the piano will not ever hold a proper tune again, and if your piano is unrepairable I give you notice of this and won't proceed.
Specialisms:	Instrument Maker, Piano Tuning, Piano Repairs, Piano Moving, Other