Piano Restoration

At Classic Piano Restorations we fully restore all makes and models of Grands, Uprights and Pianolas, from priceless antiques and family heirlooms to Concert Grands. We’ll travel all over Melbourne and Victoria to inspect your piano, providing a free* quote to restore your piano to its former glory. (*Metro melb only)

 

Is my Piano Worth Restoring?

3 factors usually help decide whether or not your piano is a good candidate for restoration. They are:

Age of piano:

We can restore pianos of any age. However, prior to being made before about 1890 not all pianos may be suitable for restoration. Most can be restored, however very early pianos may not produce desirable results for a pianist. From about 1890 until today the fundamental design of pianos have only undergone minor changes, meaning most can be restored with excellent results.

Condition of piano:

The average age of the pianos we restore is about 100 years old. More often than not, they have never had any work done on them. Most of them have not even been tuned for decades. For example, moths or silverfish, even mice can eat away at the felts and timbers and cause all sorts of problems. This means we often spend weeks (sometimes up to 6 weeks when also refinishing the case) on a single piano. If we believe that the amount of work required and hence cost of restoration is not worthwhile for a particular piano we will discuss it with you. We will even help to source a more suitable instrument if need be.

Piano Restoration Process

CONSULTATION

Firstly, we like to establish if your piano is a good candidate for restoration. This process is a fact-finding mission to ensure that you are fully educated in all aspects of work, and that your piano will be better off with work done. We will be honest at all times – if we don’t think it’s worth the investment, we will tell you!

At first, we’ll have a chat with you to ask some questions and learn more about your piano to help determine if restoring is a viable option. We may ask you to send some photos of your piano as well, and if we think there’s some good potential then we’ll arrange an on-site inspection, with a quote provided to you on the spot.

DETAILED QUOTE

We may provide you with two different quotes, one being the minimum work required to bring it up to a reasonable playing standard, and the other being a comprehensive restoration to bring it up to near-new condition. We’ll discuss every aspect of the quote to ensure you understand and are comfortable with the work that is required. We will also outline an expected timeline (Pianos typically need to be in the workshop for 1 -3 months, depending on how extensive the works are and whether any polishing work is to be carried out).

Upon acceptance of the quote, a down-payment is paid which will confirm your piano’s place in the job queue.

PICK UP

A day will be arranged for a team of fully-insured professional piano movers to come and collect your piano to be brought into our workshop in south east Melbourne.

RESTORATION

We will then disassemble your piano piece by piece, restore or replace worn parts (using the highest quality German materials), then reassemble and adjust to original specifications or better to achieve the best possible performance, tone, dynamic range, tuning stability and appearance.

For example, a typical restoration of an upright or grand piano may involve:

• Replacing hammers
• Case refinishing (we are specialists in traditional French Polishing)
• Polishing of all brass work, hinges etc.
• Replacing various action felts, leathers and springs
• Restoring original ivories or replacing keytops
• Regulation (adjustment of mechanical action & keys for optimum touch, power and dynamic range).
• Replacing broken strings, multiple tunings to A440 concert pitch
• Pin block replacement & tuning pin replacement
• String replacement (finest quality German Heller bass strings & Roslau treble steel wire)
• Soundboard and bridge repair or replacement
• In-house tuning following delivery

Progress photos can be emailed to the customer throughout the restoration process at their request. You may also visit the workshop at any point to inspect the works in progress.

DELIVERY

Professional piano movers will return your piano back to your home at a convenient day and time that suits you.

TUNING

A day will be arranged for someone to come and do the final in-house tuning and fine adjustments, usually 2 – 3 weeks after delivery. By then, it will be ready for another lifetime of enjoyment!