Piano Restoration Tips
Many of my clients in Whiteford, MD ask me if it is worth performing piano restoration on their instruments? Which prompted me to write this post on why, and when to perform restoration on a piano, and when not to!
How to know if a piano is worth repairing?
When you are unsure, call your nearest piano technician and ask them to come and evaluate it for you. This can run you anywhere from $50 to $70, this initial outlay may end up saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars down the road. When a piano is an antique or even has sentimental value, then it is well worth investing in restoration. There are quite a few great pianos out there that, with some love, tuning, and maintenance, are still good enough to give you several good years of enjoyment.
Is it safe to assume anything pre-Depression is worth restoring?
Mostly yes, however, there are a few exceptions. With pre-Depression pianos, the quality will be a great deal better than their post-Depression counterparts. After the Great Depression, everything was bought by conglomerates, which meant the quality did suffer.
So, it is a rule of thumb in the piano industry that with a brand name such as Chickering or Knabe, when pre-1932, is built and designed well. Sadly, any pianos that were built after 1933 are usually not as good, however, I did say there are exceptions.
Every piano is different, meaning they were continuously evolving. Often your restorer will have to hand-make every piece, which is extremely tedious. You can restore an antique piano sometime for a lost less than it would be to buy a good quality new one. So you should ask yourself, why does a new piano cost more? Well, you can purchase a new Yamaha grand piano for around $35,000 or $40,000. Or, you could restore an antique Knabe or Chickering for half of that.
If you would like to know more about my piano restoration services, then please do not hesitate to call Piano Tuning Pros - Whiteford at (410) 415 9453 anytime.