Tony Coiffet opens brand new piano showroom in Coffs Harbour CBD

Opening in the heart of Coffs Harbour, the new outlet will help fulfil a ‘desperate need’ for a product that is remarkably rare on the coast.

With summer fast approaching, it’s peak piano-risk season. But Tony Coiffet is here to help.

The piano technician has recently moved to Coffs Harbour and opened a piano showroom after spending more than two and a half years servicing the area from his home in the Northern Rivers.

It is the only piano shop between the Gold Coast and Newcastle and he has big plans for the space.

Mr Coiffet said a “desperate need” for a piano specialist brought him down here permanently and the idea for the showroom came about after he fielded repeat requests for help in sourcing instruments.

“The pianos I was seeing on my travels, some of them were pretty shocking,” he said.

“Instead of pretending I could do something, I just say it as it is.”

And the cause of most of the problems? Humidity.

Tony Coiffet began training as a piano tuner in France at the age of eighteen, starting with a year of full-time training at the European Technical Institute for Musical Trades before doing an apprenticeship at Kawai France. Photo: Gavin Moroney

“Pianos are very much humidity sensitive because they are build out of wood, metal and felt,” he said.

“As soon as it gets moist outside, every one of those components expands and when it gets dry it shrinks and this action over time will mean wooden parts will crack, felt will unglue and then the piano will cost a fortune to repair.”

With second hand pianos in the region often plagued with humidity-induced problems, Mr Coiffet opened Piano Harbour in Coffs Harbour’s CBD selling new instruments.

Mr Coiffet said he had to run the airconditioning in the showroom 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure their longevity.

For the average homeowner running an airconditioning unit endlessly isn’t realistic, so Mr Coiffet also stocks humidity control systems or a PLS — Piano Life Saver System.

Tony Coiffet has opened a new piano shot on Harbour Drive in Coffs Harbour. Piano Harbour is the only piano store between the Gold Coast and Newcastle. Photo: Gavin Moroney

A passionate advocate for classical music, Mr Coiffet would like to help develop the culture here on the Coffs Coast by collaborating with local arts organisations.

He hopes to offer his humidity-controlled showroom for classical concerts when the Covid-19 health restrictions ease.

“I will definitely want to work with the some of the existing entities in Coffs Harbour that offer classical music,” he said.

Mr Coiffet will continue to tune pianos as well as doing maintenance, rebuilds and reconditioning. For more information visit the store’s website.