Restoration
Having an old piano restored, or buying a restored piano can often be a much better option than buying new. Traditional older pianos were hand built with pride by craftsmen, using the finest quality materials. The woods were then properly seasoned and carefully chosen. Felts, leather, action parts, strings etc. would have all been of good quality.
The tone is often superior to that of a budget new piano. A good quality piano can last up to 100 years or so before needing restoring. A full rebuild can be quite costly, but a properly restored piano will then have a new lease of life and may well go on for another 100 years and can be passed on from generation to generation, giving many years of enjoyment. As well as being a fine musical instrument it is also very often a beautiful piece of furniture with a wealth of history behind it.
'Budget' new pianos are factory mass produced. In order to keep costs down compromises are made using inferior quality materials, and quite often poorly constructed. Many of these pianos are even made of chipboard or MDF! Plastic action parts are often used which can become brittle and then split and crack. Overall these pianos will have a much shorter life expectancy, poor tone, probably void of character and will depreciate much quicker.
If you have a piano already and are thinking about having it repaired or restored I'd be pleased to give you a free estimate or quote. I am happy to do simple repairs to full rebuilds.
A simple repair might involve replacing a broken hammer shank or string, replacing a loose tuning pin or just simply rectifying a sticky note.
A full rebuild would normally include:
Stripping the piano right down and removing the iron frame.
Making any necessary repairs to the soundboard, frame or bridges before rebuilding the piano with the best quality materials.
Actions and keyboards would be overhauled and regulated as necessary.
Caseworks would be stripped right back to the bare wood, sanded, stained and either spray finished or traditionally french polished by hand as required.
The piano would finally be chipped up to concert pitch and finely tuned to A440, completing the rebuild and restoring the instrument to its former glory.