Timpani repair.
Pedals, heads, gauges, and full overhauls - on site, in one visit.
Timpani are where Bono Percussion started, and they are still the work we do most. A technician who works on nothing but percussion comes to your school, church, or hall with the heads and parts already on the truck, and finishes the job in a single visit. Pedals that will not hold pitch, head changes, tuning gauge repair, bearing edges, dent removal, and complete overhauls.
Trusted by directors and programs across Texas and North Carolina
The drum directors ask for by name
When a band is playing the honor-band slot at the TMEA or NCMEA conventions, or performing at The Midwest Clinic, the directors call us first to make sure the timpani are 100 percent.
“Rich has worked on our school timpani and other percussion equipment for several years. Honestly, I wouldn't trust anyone else to provide the same service.”
Jack Forbis
Trust
“He finished the overhaul in a few hours and now the timpani are as good as new!”
Jonathan Mueller
Overhauls
“One of the pedals has not worked properly in fifteen years, and now it works perfectly!”
Laura Davison
Pedals
A 30-day guarantee
If something is not working as it should within 30 days, we fix it for free. Usually a quick video consult, an on-site visit only if it is needed.
Authorized parts dealer
Bono Percussion is an authorized repair-parts dealer for Ludwig and Musser, Pearl, Adams, and Yamaha. Every technician carries their own insurance and has passed a background check.
What we handle, and how it works
Timpani have more moving parts than anything else in the section, and a specialist knows where they fail. One drum or eight sets, the same team handles it. Open a section below for the detail.
| Problem | What we do |
|---|---|
| Pedals | A pedal that drifts or will not hold pitch: head range reset, brake pad adjustment, and spring tension adjustment, dialed in together on site. |
| Heads | Head changes, seating, clearing, and range setting, with bearing edges cleaned and Teflon-taped so the new head speaks evenly. |
| Tuning gauges | Repair, cable replacement, and new gauge installation so you can see the pitch at a glance. |
| The rest | Dent removal, creaks and rattles, wheels cleaned and lubricated, bolts snugged, and a deep clean from the head down and under the bowl. |
| Full overhauls | The deep, rarely-done strip-down and rebuild for a set that has been fighting students for years. |
Brands: Ludwig, Yamaha, Adams, Premier, Majestic, American Drum, Walter Light, and older or unusual drums.
- You tell us what you have, with the make and model if you know it. A few photos of each drum and its gauge help us confirm the parts.
- We send a clear written estimate, and no work starts until you have approved the plan and the price.
- We source every head and part ahead of the visit.
- A technician comes to your facility with everything on the truck.
- The work is finished in one visit, on your schedule.
- You are covered by the 30-day guarantee. Where a repair needs checking after it settles, we leave a note on what to watch for.
| Job | Price |
|---|---|
| Yearly timpani maintenance | $105 per drum |
| The Bono Special (head change, bearing edges, adjustments, deep clean) | $160 per drum |
| The Bono Special Plus (adds a follow-up visit two weeks later) | $195 per drum |
| Tuning gauge installation | $35 per gauge |
| Yamaha tuning gauge cable replacement | $115 |
| Ludwig brake pad installation | $45 |
| Ludwig heel-slap adjustment (kills the clunk at the floor) | $55 |
| Ludwig spring casing re-grease (frees up a stiff pedal, quiets a creaking casing) | $65 |
Everything gets a quote first - no work starts until you have approved the plan and the price. The full itemized price list is on the repairs and services page.
A few we're proud of
A university in Jacksonville, Florida had 13 timpani across three sets: old heads, tuning gauges missing parts, pedals that would not hold, and wheels that made noise when the drums moved. We confirmed every part with the percussion director by email first, sourced all of it ahead of the trip, and spent 22.5 hours over two days on each drum: strip and clean above and below the bowl, dents out, every moving part lubricated, bearing edges cleaned and Teflon-taped, gauges adjusted, brake pads replaced, spring casings regreased. Thirteen drums that look, sound, and function like new.
Byron Nelson High School runs a large percussion program with a constant run of auditions and concerts and no time to maintain the inventory. John Bingaman keeps calling us back to keep the timpani performance-ready, and he has said the arrangement helps keep his job sustainable.
A director in a time crunch had been told her timpani were beyond repair. Rich walked her through the fix over a video call, step by step, and sent maintenance notes afterward. The drums are still playing. When we cannot get to you, that is what Virtual Repair is for.
Franklinton Middle School in North Carolina had pedals that would not hold pitch, so students preparing region audition music could only practice by hitting the drum wherever the pedal happened to land. They never heard the actual piece, at the actual pitches, until they walked into the audition room. We repaired the pedals so the drums hold pitch again, the last piece of a program-wide overhaul the director had been working through. This year's timpani student gets to practice the real thing beforehand.
Franklinton Middle School, before: pedals that would not hold, so students could not hear their audition music at pitch.
Same drums, after: pedals holding pitch, ready for this year's audition prep.
A head change in progress on site: bearing edge cleaned and taped, new head seated and cleared before the range is set.
We really hope your head never looks like this, but if it does, we can get you squared away.
Before and after: a dent removed from a timpani bowl.
Common questions
A full head change with cleaning and adjustments is $160 per drum. We call it The Bono Special: new heads, bearing edges cleaned and Teflon-taped, moving parts lubricated, dents removed, tuning gauge and pedal set, deep clean, and a full inspection. Add $35 per drum for a follow-up visit two weeks later once the heads have settled.
Yes, we can fix that. A pedal that won't hold pitch normally needs the head range reset, a brake pad adjustment, or a spring tension adjustment. It's a balancing act, and it's all done on site.
On site. Every job is planned in advance so the heads and parts are on the truck, and the work is finished in one visit. Only a deep overhaul that needs a bench comes off site, to a technician's workshop.
All of them: Ludwig, Yamaha, Adams, Premier, Majestic, American Drum, and Walter Light, plus older and unusual drums. We are an authorized repair-parts dealer for Ludwig, Musser, Pearl, Adams, and Yamaha.
A technician lives in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte, and travels to you. Outside those metros we still travel for the right job. Tell us where you are and we will let you know.
Get a second opinion before you replace them. More than one director came to us after being told their drums were beyond repair and got them working again, sometimes over a video call. If it truly is done, we will tell you that too.
Areas we serve
A technician lives in each of our six home metros across Texas and North Carolina. If you are outside these areas, we still travel for the right job. Tell us where you are.
| Metro | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Timpani repair in Fort Worth | A technician lives in the metro and services timpani for Fort Worth schools, churches, and halls on site. |
| Timpani repair in Dallas | Dallas programs get the same resident technician who covers the wider Dallas-Fort Worth area. |
| Timpani repair in Houston | Houston has had a technician on the ground since 2024, serving districts and universities across the metro. |
| Timpani repair in Austin | Austin is our newest metro, added in 2026, with a technician covering Central Texas band programs. |
| Timpani repair in the Raleigh area | The Triangle, including Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, is where Bono Percussion is based. |
| Timpani repair in Greensboro | The Triad, including Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point, has been served since 2019. |
| Timpani repair in Charlotte | Charlotte has had its own technician since 2021 for school and church percussion work. |
| Timpani repair in San Antonio | San Antonio is served on a travel basis when enough jobs line up, not yet a home metro. |
Tell us what you've got
Send a few details about your timpani and we'll come back with a clear price before any work starts, whether it's one pedal or a full overhaul. You're covered by our 30-day guarantee either way.