Piano Restoration and Rebuilding for Chicago
Restoring pianos for Chicago, IL
Chicago was one of the great piano manufacturing cities, and greater Chicago is still dense with instruments worth rebuilding.
We rebuild fine pianos for Chicago owners, Steinway, Baldwin, Mason & Hamlin and many others, at our own facility: restringing, pinblock and soundboard replacement, complete action rebuilds and hand refinishing.
What we take on for Chicago customers
Major repair and full restoration only, at our shop in Buffalo. No tuning, regulation or minor repairs in Chicago: those belong to a technician near you, and we would rather say so than sell you a long-distance callout. Getting the piano here is our problem, not yours. See how our service area works.
Working with the Great Lakes
The W.W. Kimball Company built pianos in Chicago from 1857, and for decades the city was second only to New York in the American piano trade. That history left an enormous number of instruments across the metropolitan area, many of them still in the families that bought them.
Symphony Center has been home to the Chicago Symphony since 1904, and the teaching and performing community around it is one of the largest in the country. Where there is that much playing, there is that much wear, and eventually that much structural work needed.
Chicago is around 540 miles from our bench. That is a planned collection rather than a casual one, but a full rebuild occupies the shop for months, so the journey is a modest share of the cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why send a piano east when Chicago has its own shops?
There are good technicians in Chicago. What we offer is the whole rebuild under one roof by the people who quoted it, at our overheads, with the transport built into the price. For many owners that combination is what makes the work affordable.
Do you rebuild Kimball and other Chicago makes?
We rebuild a wide range of older American instruments and judge each on its own construction rather than its badge. See the list of makers, and send us the make and serial number if yours is not on it.
What makes a century-old piano worth the work?
Materials. Multi-laminate pinblocks, thick hardwood veneers, sand-cast plates and solid spruce soundboards, with no plastic or particleboard. Only the most expensive pianos built today are made that way.
How is the collection arranged?
By us. Chicago is beyond our own truck's range, so we facilitate the move with our partner piano movers and coordinate it end to end, including the return delivery.