CHAPTER 7
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Selecting A Restorer

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
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If you’re considering piano restoration, chances are you either have a family heirloom of important sentimental worth or a high quality vintage brand name like Steinway, Mason Hamlin, Chickering, Sohmer, Baldwin, and other select brands that represents a great value opportunity. In either case, restoration is still a considerable investment. So how can you be sure you’re placing your piano in capable hands? How can you be sure that the finished product is what you expect—beautiful to behold and lovely to hear? Let’s start with two important reminders that ring with truth:

*If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is*
*You get what you pay for*

The Internet - A friend and foe

The Internet opens a door of ample opportunity. Every kind of piano imaginable is for sale. New and used dealers, individual owners and restoration companies from around the country are accessible online. And professional movers will deliver to your door. Great deals are everywhere and so are great scams. The first you want. The second…NOT.

Keep in mind that anyone with the cash or know-how can piece a nice website together. They can add astounding pictures, make impressive claims and insert convincing testimonies. We think we’ve done a rather fabulous job ourselves at www.lindebladpiano.com. But can you trust it?  How do you know for sure if the pictures you see online are actually an expansive factory floor and not in reality a garage? If you live close enough, go check it out in person. If not, read on.

Check References

This is always your first course of action. Customer testimonials posted on a website should be real people. Don’t simply take their word for it. We live in the age of instant communication, right? People have cell phones, e-mail and text messaging. A reputable company will be ready and willing to provide that information to you. Never hesitate to ask for references and follow-up on them.

Contact Other Industry Professional

It’s okay to ask someone within the industry about another professional. Yes, we may be competitors. But we also care about the standing of our industry as a whole. We support one another’s reputation when it’s deserved. And in the end, we all want you to be satisfied with your final product. When someone unqualified masquerades in our industry, produces inferior quality and creates dissatisfied customers, it drags us all down. We don’t want that for you or us.

Ask about the Parts Used

If a generic brand, re-manufactured water pump is installed on your car, you’ll save money over the price of a new one. But you’re taking a risk with an inferior product. And if the water pump goes bad a few months later, you’ll face additional labor costs to replace it. Doesn’t it make sense to pay more for a new water pump from a reputable manufacturer? 

The same principle is true for pianos. A variety of manufacturers around the world produce piano parts that differ in quality and price. Why save a little money on products of questionable quality? If you expect the best sound and performance, insist on the best parts.

Ask the restoration company you’re considering for the names of the companies they buy from. When working on Steinways, we buy authentic Steinway parts from Steinway of? New York. Helmut Abel of Germany is another one of our favorite, reputable manufacturers. Here are other companies we use:

Soundboards

The soundboard is made of wood and acts as your amplifier. Better quality wood produces better sound.

For Steinway pianos, we typically used Sikta Spruce soundboards obtained from Northwest Specialty Woods. (www.nswoods.net).  Steinway NY uses the sitka spruce as well.

For other brands, we also buy Eastern White Spruce soundboards from Les Pianos Andre Bolduc Inc. (www.pianobolduc.com). The company is known throughout the world for superior workmanship. They offer stunning, unblemished matched board color, correct grain orientation and dimensioning and superior tone production.

Action parts

We use Renner parts (www.rennerusa.com) for Steinway and Mason & Hamlin pianos.  They develop action parts and tools specifically designed for American pianos. This includes original dimensioned piano action replacement parts for Baldwin, Chickering, Knabe, Mason & Hamlin, Steinway, and other fine American pianos.

The company also provides original replacement parts for the great European piano makers, including Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendofer, Fazioli, August Förster, Grotrian Steinweg, Schimmel, Seiler, Wilh, Steinberg, Steingräber & Söhne, and the better quality Asian piano producers.

Strings

We buy our piano strings from Mapes Piano String Company in Tennessee. They’ve been in the business since 1912.  Steinway of New York uses their strings too. 

A final note about replacement parts: They should match the original parts in both quality and dimension. When a replacement part is a different size than the original it throws off the piano’s synchronization. This is critically important to the instrument’s overall sound and performance.  This keeps the piano authentic to its original design.

Look for Experience and Know-How

Piano restoration is a labor-intensive job and involves more than just swapping out parts.

Each part must be individually fitted and adjusted—much like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. It’s where experience comes into play. And this experience is gained over time after working on many restoration projects. How many years has the company you’re considering been in business and how many years of experience do their technicians have?  Do they specialize in piano restoration or just minor repair and tuning?  There is a distinctive difference between the two.