I was looking at purchasing a very nice piano at an estate sale. Nick was referred to me by Strait Music to inspect it. It was money well spent. He was professional, extremely knowlegeable and you could sense his interest in exploring the instrument. He also provided a value range for me to work with. I would recommend him without any reservations. We plan on using him for routine maintenance. read more

Five fiery stars! Nick Litterski really took care of our piano, and he really took care of us. He's the guy you want for your tuning and piano maintenance! I inherited a baby grand piano that had been in my grandmother's house since at least the early 1960s but probably quite a bit earlier, mostly unplayed. A refinish from decades ago job wiped out any trace of the manufacturer on the front, so it's a mystery who made it or how old it is. I also had no paper trail on how much care it had received over the years, meaning it could have been anything from an easy job to a huge challenge to tune it and get it into really good playable shape. Nick was amazing. He showed up on time, and immediately put me at ease. From a quick glance at the piano he could already give me clues as to what kind of shape it was in (turns out, not too bad all things considered), and as he got to work he took the utmost care in not just doing a simple tuning and cleaning of the piano, but also trying to get a feel for it as an instrument and where we could take it beyond this. He was very careful to get a sense of how my family and I use the piano and where my interests and skill levels were at, to get a sense of how much work we need to think about doing in the coming years to make it work for us without going overboard. I really appreciated his thoughtfulness on this, and on not trying to oversell us or just make it a quick in and out job. His care with the piano itself was superb, and over the course of 3 hours he transformed it from something that sounded like the piano from the cantina scene in The Three Amigos to something that fills our living room with beautiful harmonies. Throughout the process he kept communicating on everything he was doing, explaining in simple terms what he was finding and what he thought was needed, which gave me a new appreciation as well for the complexities of pianos. Nick is also just an easy going, fun guy. As he opened up the piano we kept finding little clues inscribed here and there as to its age and history, and he got as excited about solving the mystery of its origins as I did! Plus Nick is himself a fabulous piano player --- as he tested the tuning I was in awe of his jazz playing --- and before he left he even gave me a few pointers on how to get myself back into piano playing after 25 years of having barely played at all, but also new ways to think about approaching the piano to break the cycle of strict sight reading years of classical piano lessons left me with. In sum, I highly recommend Nick Litterski! He will work with you and your piano to help you get exactly what you need! read more

I inherited family heirloom player piano and was attempting to get it tuned. I came across Nick's business and scheduled to have him come in to take a look at it. He showed up on time, was polite and professional. He was also very honest- after disassembly, he found that the player piano mechanism would interfere with the ability to tune the piano. The labor involved would have been very intensive and we agreed to not move forward with the project. So- I'll still give 5 stars. If I had a piano that was worth tuning I wouldn't hesitate to contact Nick again for service. read more

I hadn't had my piano tuned for over 10 years, and it had a couple of sticky keys. I knew the piano needed more than just a simple tuning. Nick arrived on schedule and showed me that many of my piano's hammers were not returning to their "resting" position. First he did an initial tuning. Then after consulting with me, he took the entire set of hammers back to his bench where he "lubricated" each of them. He came back the next day, reinstalled the workings, and did a final tuning. I am extremely pleased with the result. The piano sounds and plays beautifully. Nick was very good at explaining everything he did and answering my many questions. I'll need to follow-up with another tuning in a few months while the piano settles back into the proper tuning. Nick is extremely knowledgeable and careful. He also communicates very well (confirms appointments, sends reminders, tells you when he's on his way, shows you what needs attention, etc.). I highly recommend Austin Piano Tex. read more

LOOK NO FURTHER!! Nick is not your typical Piano Tuner. I found Nick through the "Piano Technicians Guild" of which he is a member. Keeping Piano's in tip-top shape is his craft. Every time he comes to tune, he checks the action and makes sure it's right on. We discussed the type of music I like to play, and the best sound to get out of my Piano. On top of all this, Nick is a professional in your home. Texts before he arrives, communicates when needed. I highly recommend Nick for anything Piano related that you need. read more

Nick was a pleasure to have at our place while he tuned the old 1917 Starr grand that we have. He has a good ear, great attitude, and genuine enthusiasm for pianos and tuning techniques. He also plays beautifully, apparently a highly sought pianist among the salsa, jazz, and blues circles (we went to his salsa show later, after he tuned our piano). While he was here he also did a thorough inspection of the piano's action and gave me a run-down of the different components, what they do, how they're adjusted, and how the adjustments would affect the playing. Very cool and helpful! His rates are very reasonable and when I called him a week or so later for some fine adjustments, he gladly swung back by next time he was in the neighborhood. The piano sounds awesome and we are looking forward to a continued relationship with him for the semi-yearly fine-tunes. read more

Not only did he tune a piano that hadn't been serviced in 5+ years, he also fixed some fixed some misplaced piano screws that the movers had incorrectly placed. Punctual, polite, and a great piano guru -- Highly recommend and will use again. Thanks! read more

My boyfriend and I bought a used piano from a mutual friend, but we knew it needed some serious TLC. So, we contacted Nick and had him come work on it. We were expecting to pay hundreds to get the piano in working condition, and instead we spent about 1/2 of what we were expecting. It was 20 cents flat (boyfriend said it was beautiful noise, I said it was vomit-tastic) and within just a couple of hours the piano sounds like new. We still need to have him come back and fix a couple of broken hammers, but I'm amazed at the quality of work he did at a totally reasonable price. A+ service. I would seriously recommend calling Nick before you look anywhere else. read more

Nick is an amazing tuner and tech and an excellent human being. He always does a wonderful job tuning our old Baldwin Acrosonic. It plays like a dream and we wouldn't think of having anyone else tune it. Thanks Nick and Austin Piano Tex! You're the best! read more

Nick of Austin Piano Tex is an expert Piano Tuner and Tech as well as just an all around good guy to know. Nick worked on our very ancient 1800s Piano and did some pretty intensive regulation work on the Piano. It plays a million times better than it did before he took it all apart put it back to where it should be. It is certainly much nicer to play. He basically took the inside working parts of the Piano to his shop and did most of the setup and regulation there. Nick is a very crafty technician and doesn't give up where most others would throw in the towel. I really wish I had done this 10 years ago. Nick has a unique appreciation of pianos and gives special care to old pianos. If you just need simple piano tuning or maybe your piano needs more complex regulation and restoring work I would highly recommend that you check with Nick at Austin Piano Tex. He is a very easy going musician and Piano Tech and will let you know exactly what you are dealing with. He gives a very fair deal and I would definitely say that his work is very reasonably priced. Hey, I was just impressed at how hard Nick worked on the old piano! read more

Nick is my go-to for all my piano maintenance needs. In addition to tuning my piano for years, he most recently replaced all of the hammer springs and reshaped the felt on the hammers...making the tone quality much warmer to the ear. There's no one else in town I trust more to work on and maintain the piano that I've been playing my whole life. read more

Nick at Austin Piano Tex does a great job and is a genuinely nice guy to work with. We actually purchased our piano from Nick, who had already done repair work on the piano, moved it for us and then tuned it. He stays in touch to remind you when your piano is due for tuning, and his rates are extremely reasonable. read more

We just moved to Austin a month ago, and I searched Google for best piano tuners in Austin and contacted Nick shortly after arriving here. We set up a time, and he came over today and tuned my Yamaha UX1 piano to an amazing sound I've not heard from it in many years. I wouldn't just call it a tuning. I would all it a very "fine tuning" of my piano today. I look forward to having him service my piano every time a tuning or regulation is needed. read more

Nick did an amazing and very thorough job repairing our antique baby grand! We have had several different people come out to try to repair this piano over the years, and Nick was far more knowledgable than any of the rest, and the piano sounds great! Highly recommend him! read more

I bought a great used piano from Nick when I first moved to Austin 8 years ago. It was a piano he had rehabbed. Since then, he has keep the piano in tune and good working order. At one point, my home was broken into and the piano got minor damage that he quickly came and repaired. Now I am moving again and he helped me with pricing my piano (to sell) and even threw in a deal on a tuning for the buyer. Nick makes owning a piano easy since he is always willing to be a resource for you with any questions or concerns you might have. He is trustworthy, talented, and reasonably priced. read more

Nick did a wonderful job fixing up and repairing an antique piano I just purchased. He was on time and very patient while explaining the whole process to me. His prices are fair and his work quality is excellent. read more

My wife and I were lucky enough to have a vintage console piano that's been in her family for 80+ years driven across the state and delivered to us by her parents. The piano hadn't been played, tuned or loved for years and years and was in desperate need for some TLC. My initial thinking was that we would spend a fortune getting it in playing condition but it was going to be worth it given the history of the piano. That being said I needed a piano technician STAT! So I found Nick (the one man show that is Austin Piano Tex) on Craigslist and I gave him a shout. He was totally able to accommodate my work schedule and come over at 5:30 on a weeknight so I didn't have to be out of the office, which is amazing (take note Time Warner). The piano was so out of whack that it needed two pitch raises and then Nick let the piano settle for about 2 weeks and came back and fine tuned it. Overall Nick was incredibly personable and professional and I certainly feel like the pricing was reasonable. I was really expecting to have to bring some stodgy, judgy old geezer into my house to get the piano in working order so I'm really glad that Nick was able to help us out. Thanks Nick! We'll be dealing with Nick for all of our piano needs in the foreseeable future. read more