A little background on our piano tuners

Our fearless leader and founder - Vince Chambers - has been tuning in Northern California since 1982 (yikes!). Here's his story:

My father opened the SF School of Piano Tuning and SF Piano in the late 1970s. This is where I learned to tune, and I taught tuning and repair at his school for 10 years until 1994 when I went to UCLA to study voice. Next came NJ/NYC, Menlo Park, CA, and finally Chico, CA in 2007. Since 2020 I've been spending my weeks in San Francisco (and some weekends...I love my road bike!) and weekends in Chico. 

I work with a wide range of clients, from professional musicians and families, to tech billionaires and my mom. I work for dealerships, and am especially fond of those who treat their clients with great respect. 

I've also become quite the expert in Yamaha Disklavier repairs and upgrades, and now do warranty repair work for Yamaha, Kawai, and Bechstein acoustic and digital hybrid instruments. 

Our philosophy is simple: We don't work on pianos, we work for people. Whether you just bought a Steinway B Spirio or Yamaha DCFX, or took your neighbor's old spinet for free when she moved out of the Bay Area, we deliver the service you deserve

These steadfast principles apply to everyone:

• Your story matters: Most family pianos have a story, and we respect that. Whether your great aunt was an opera singer and the piano came around the horn before the Panama Canal was built, or you bought a player piano so your winery guests would feel special on their special day, we'll embrace and respect your story.
• Work Guaranteed: Everyone makes mistakes, and old pianos don't always cooperate. And while we can't guarantee a tuning, we have been known to come back for a touch up. We value the long term relationships with our clients. 
• Options: Vince owned Apollo Piano in Chico, a Yamaha, Pearl River, and Hailun piano dealership, as well as a music school. His network of dealer and manufacturer  contacts is a great resource for our clients. We also sell and rent used pianos on a monthly basis. 
• Factory Training; Formal Education:  Vince does warranty for for Bechstein, Kawai, and Yamaha, and will add Steinway to the list in October 2024. All of our technicians are tuners of the Piano Technicians' Guild, and take full advantage of the conventions and classes. 
• Hybrid Pianos: Vince is a rare breed who works on Player Pianos (Disklaveir, QRS, PianoDisc) Silent Systems by Bechstein and Kioshi, 
• Check out my articles here. 
• Rebuilding is a passion of mine. I will never steer you away from rebuilding your piano if that's what you want, or if that makes the most sense for you. Sure, buying a new piano is a quicker, but the two cannot be compared. It's as individual a choice as any, and I'll lay it out for you. I am your consultant, and strive to provide unbiased advice.

I own Apollo Music & Arts in Chico, California. We are a Yamaha Piano Dealership, School of Music, and a full service department where we rebuild and refinishing pianos for our clients, and other piano tuners. So why SF Piano Works?

While I wear many hats in my business, I'm happiest working on pianos. Call it an addiction, or an affliction, but I've had this bug since 1982, and apparently there is no cure. 

So tell me about your piano...

Vince

Robbie started out as one of Vince's tuning client in Pleasant Hill, CA, and he soon became an integral part of Vince's music school in Chico, CA. and a piano tuner. Here's his story:

I've played piano my entire life - as well as singing, and playing guitar. But somehow I ended up in hospitality, becoming a level 2 somelleir, while teaching music in the day. Ultimately music won out, and kids at The School of Rock stole my heart. 

As much as I love teaching, and of course playing in my band, my fascination with the pianos and the desire for more normal hours led me to ask Vince to teach me how to work on pianos.