Piano Restoration and Rebuilding for St. Louis
Restoring pianos for St. Louis, MO
Powell Hall is home to the second-oldest orchestra in the country, and the city has the piano stock to go with that history.
We rebuild fine pianos for St. Louis 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 St. Louis customers
Major repair and full restoration only, at our shop in Buffalo. No tuning, regulation or minor repairs in St. Louis: 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 middle Mississippi
The St. Louis Symphony has been playing since 1880, and the Sheldon Concert Hall has been a recital room since 1912. A city with that continuity accumulates instruments, and the good ones tend to be kept rather than traded away.
St. Louis summers are genuinely hard on a piano. Sustained heat and humidity followed by dry winter heating is the cycle that swells and shrinks a soundboard until it cracks, and no amount of tuning fixes that. It is structural, and structural is what we do.
At roughly 700 miles this is one of our longer hauls, planned well in advance. It is still a small share of a rebuild that occupies the bench for months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Humidity here is brutal. Is a rebuild pointless?
Not at all, but the environment has to be managed afterwards or the same cycle starts again. We will talk you through sensible humidity control for the room the piano lives in when it goes back.
What is the pinblock and why does it matter?
It is the laminated block the tuning pins grip. When it stops gripping consistently, the piano will not hold a tuning no matter who tunes it. Ours are meticulously drilled for a consistent fit and fitted to the plate flange with every gap eliminated.
Is it worth the distance?
Ask us honestly and we will tell you honestly. For a fine instrument that needs real structural work, yes. For a piano that needs a tuning and a small repair, no, and we will say so.
How long is the whole process?
Months on the bench plus the travel at each end. You get a realistic schedule with the written quote so you can plan around the piano being away.