Marcus Roberts has been a concert tuner and piano restorer for over 35 years and has a passion to see each piano perform to its best capabilities. In our experience, we have found that the majority of older pianos have been regularly tuned but never or rarely serviced. Therefore it becomes very difficult to achieve a reliable soft touch, which is key for anyone wishing to develop their piano playing, not to mention that the tone is also inferior.
For this reason, at Roberts Pianos we are pleased to offer piano restoration and reconditioning to the highest possible standard so that you can discover and enjoy your piano’s full potential.
If you would like to see your piano perform optimally, we would encourage you to make use of our combined removals and inspection service, removing your piano via our workshop where it will be assessed by Marcus, who will make a video showing the possible improvements to help you to think it through. He will also write a simple report detailing the most important work that needs doing, along with a quote for each service, and place tasks in order of priority. This has a cost of £300+VAT (2024) but will be taken off the charge for any work you commission us to do.
The main aspects we take into account
What’s the piano’s current state?
This is the starting point. Is a full restoration necessary or does it just need regulating and voicing?
Assessment to identify any problems, which may stop the piano from working as it should, or secondary problems like appearance, minor moth damage, etc. Often the casework of a piano has been well looked after but the inside has been neglected.
We will tone the piano according to the kind of room and type of tone you require. (look at section on right)
Your requirements, priorities and expectations
You may want your piano restored for different reasons. For example, it may be a family heirloom passed on from a loved one, or perhaps you want your piano appearance as a piece of furniture in a particular room/setting. your piano has symbolic value simply want a working piano or do you ? Perhaps the piano . Will you be using it to teach or play pofesionally?
Finance?
Upon assessment, we will let you know what work is essential to get the piano working to a satisfactory level and what additional work can be done to improve the piano. The amount of work done on your piano will depend on your requirements and how much you are willing to invest in it.
Original: When we are asked to quote for work, we take into account the points in this section (what is this referring to?), always working within your budget. (Do we want o address budget directly?
Will the piano hold its value?
There is no question of this if it is one of the top German makes – Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendorfer, Steinway, etc. German makes such as Lipp, Kaps, some Ibach grands, and some English makes such as some Chappell grands and some Broadwoods will fare well in terms of value too.
Detailed aspects of Restoration - Everything below should go in a separate page. ~More about Piano Restoration and Reconditioning~
Polishing
Casing is very important as a piano is not just a musical instrument but also a piece of furniture in its own right.
At Roberts Pianos, we specialise in French Polishing, which is the traditional finish for pianos.
We also offer modern polyester finish if required.
Hammers
Hammers are the components that hit the strings to cause them to vibrate, and as such, they need to have certain characteristics. With use, hammers begin to wear and the resulting tone deteriorates. Depending on the amount of wear, we can offer different options to produce an optimal tone again.
Recovering/Replacing
When the hammers are too worn to reface, they must either be recovered or replaced altogether.
Hammers often get too worn or soft, and cannot be made to reproduce the original tone. New hammers are the only solution. We usually fit new ones which are made in Germany, but sometimes opt rather to recover the existing hammers, again using German or other top quality felt. Refacing involves taking the existing hammer, removing the old felt and putting new felt in using highly specialised equipment. The decision as to which route to take for a particular piano is one of the most important we make. It is often more sensible to replace the hammer heads and shanks together.
The new (or refaced) hammers make a world of difference to the tone, bringing out the full harmonic range of the piano. After installation, the hammers then need accurate aligning to the strings, and once the piano has been fine tuned, the hammers are fine voiced. All of this costs between £2,100 and £3,100 (2020), including voicing hammers and weighting the action. Please note that replacing the hammers on your piano will make the touch heavier unless you specify that you want lighter hammers fitted (see also “touch” below).
Re-facing
This is the simplest and most economic option, but requires that there be enough felt remaining on the hammers. When re-facing, material is removed from above and below the strike point of each hammer so as to restore its original round shape, which is what most affects the resulting tone. After refacing, the hammers must be voiced as well (see below). The cost varies from £300 to £650 (2020). Re-facing will reduce the weight of the action, and may also affect balance on uprights.
Voicing
This is the fine skill of giving each hammer the correct tension. It is done by needling the felt around the strike point, opening it out so that it rebounds off the string at the correct speed. Normally, new hammers are too hard and bright and need “deep voicing” to cause them to bounce off the strings at the correct speed. The technician learns from experience what the correct tone should be. Once the felt is at the right tension, then the hammer is fine voiced. On grand pianos, this includes voicing the piano for “una corda” or soft pedal playing, giving it a mellower tone when the soft pedal is depressed. Cost of toning: full toning about £400 – £700.(2020)
Fitting tuning pins
Loose tuning pins often occur when central heating over time dries the wood on the piano’s pin block, causing the tuning pins to loosen. In most cases this can be cured permanently by replacing the tuning pins with larger ones, though in some pianos, such as the Bechstein upright models I to V, the pin-block itself may need changing. Changing tuning pins accurately is time-consuming costs about £1,300 (2020), and it’s a good opportunity to re-string at the same time if this is thought to be an improvement. Restringing costs between £2,100 and £2,800 (2020); this is usually combined with refinishing and repairing (if necessary) the soundboard, and refinishing the frame. If the pin block needs replacing too, replacing the pin block, repairing soundboard and restringing will cost about £3,700 (2020). This is well worth doing on a good piano as it will make the tuning very stable in central heating.
Strings
Strings are changed less often than tuning pins as it’s extremely difficult to reproduce the appropriate tone with modern strings. In some cases, such as with Blüthner or Richard Lipp grands, the bass tone can be inferior with new strings. However, if your piano has several broken strings already, then changing them may be the best option. Modern grands can often be improved with new bass strings, sometimes because the original strings weren’t very good anyway! Our replacement German bass strings, for instance, will vastly improve a Yamaha grand piano. Replacing all the strings costs between £1,900 and £3,000 (2020), including refinishing the frame and soundboard. Also bear in mind that if the tuning pins are already large because the piano has been previously restrung, or if the tuning block or wrest plank is damaged, then it will probably need replacing.
Fitting a Practice Pedal (Celeste mute)
Most modern upright pianos have a third pedal which when depressed puts a felt between the hammer and strings, allowing the midnight pianist to practice without disturbing anyone! These can be fitted to most good quality older under-damper upright pianos as a lever situated under the keyboard. The cost is around £250 + VAT. (2020)
Repairing/Replacing Keytops
Old pianos used ivory (Pre ’79?). Often break, come off or turn yellow. If the ivories are very yellowed, they may benefit from scraping and polishing. . We can usually repair or replace chipped ivories with a good match. There are legal issues when exporting. Ivory keytops are also sometimes beyond repair, in which case we recommend replacing them with modern plastic keytops.
Touch
Refers to the smoothness, responsiveness and weight of the action. Top makes of piano can be made to be excellent in all aspects, while it’s often impossible to improve a piano that is cheaply made in the first place. There are, however, basic adjustments that can be made to vastly improve the touch of any piano, such as taking up the slack between the keys and the rest of the movement, adjusting the hammer blow distance or adjusting the “let off” – the distance the hammer travels to the strings before escaping, etc. However, to make fundamental improvements to the touch, extensive work needs to be undertaken. This is because touch is related to two opposing factors: down-weight and up-weight.
Conclusion?
Conclusion to what? This is not an article or an essay.
Restoration includes the above, but implies much more fundamental work such as major casework repairs, tuning block (wrest plank) and even soundboard replacement. Replacing the soundboard considerably alters the underlying tone of the piano and is not recommended except where it has lost its “crown” or is severely damaged in some way.
A piano that has lost its crown produces a thin and sometimes harsh tone in the mid treble, particularly noticeable around C to F in the octave above middle C (notes 52 to 57). We restore all good makes of piano (define good makes), though our main full restoration work is on grand pianos by Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendorfer and Steinway. (Not convinced that this is appropriate here, perhaps at the start)
Assessment
Given all the above, you need to get your piano assessed….
The way we assess each piano
Assessment in transit
Redundant. Explained at beginning
