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Reconditioned & Rebuilt Pianos What is the difference between reconditioning and rebuilding? Reconditioning generally refers to overhauling the piano without replacing parts. It includes things like regulation, hammer reshaping, key rebushing. Rebuilding, which is sometimes done along with refinishing, involves replacing strings, tuning pins, hammers, etc. A rebuilt piano should play and sound as well as when the piano was new. Is it worth rebuilding an old piano? Because rebuilding is such a huge job, it is often questionable whether it is worth doing to an average or lesser quality piano. Certainly if a piano has sentimental value or if the owner wants it to play at its best, I will be happy to do the work. But in most cases, a complete rebuild is done to pianos with better quality names. It may actually cost less to buy a brand new piano then to rebuild and refinish an older one. (This is primarily because of cheaper labor overseas.) Many older pianos are of poor quality and never sounded that good to begin with; a few older pianos still sound great after 75 years, even without a complete rebuilding. What is involved in rebuilding a piano? For a complete rebuild, the piano is taken completely apart. The strings are removed, as well as the tuning pins. Then the cast iron plate must be lifted off. This weighs several hundred pounds and requires an engine hoist. The pinblock, which hold the tuning pins under enormous stress, should be replaced with an exact duplicate. The bass strings have to be custom made to precisely fit the piano. The soundboard gets repaired or replaced if necessary and refinished. The plate (harp) also gets refinished. The action is taken apart and parts are replaced. The key bushing felt is replaced. When everything is put back together, a great deal of adjustment (regulation) and many tunings are needed to stabilize the piano. The entire process can take a couple months. Of course, the piano will be like new when all is done. Is a complete rebuild always necessary for older pianos? There are different schools of thought on whether it is always advantageous to replace everything. Some old soundboards sound better to me than some new ones. Even old hammers can sound good sometimes if they have enough felt left. I'm not a believer in replacing everything on a piano just because it's in the shop. However, parts that could fail in the future (such as a pinblock) are better off being replaced once a piano is taken apart. Is real ivory still available? Ivory has generally not been used since the 1950's. Some people prefer the feel of genuine ivory, as it is more porous than plastic. If a few ivories are missing or chipped, I can replace or repair them. If two many are damaged or missing, I can replace with either plastic or legal pre-ban ivory. I also offer bleaching of yellow ivories. What if a piano has a cracked soundboard? Cracks in a soundboard do not effect the sound of the piano. Since no one seems to believe this, please read this link to the Steinway website. Cracks can be repaired during piano rebuilding, although this is done partly for cosmetic reasons. During the soundboard repair, the board is reglued to the ribs wherever there is separation occuring. This will prevent noises that can occur in an old soundboard. Removing the plate from a baby grand piano using an engine hoist