As a piano dealer, I’m asked this question all the time. And every time I have to answer: It depends.

Of course, I love a new piano. Nothing is as striking as a newly built baby grand vying for center stage in clients home. Knowing it will create beautiful music for decades to come is part of what brought me to this industry in the first place.

But there’s also something special about a vintage piano.

If you head back in time fifty, even a hundred years ago or more, pianos were built for a different way of life. Pianos weren’t merely pieces of furniture tucked away in a corner waiting for daily practice sessions. Pianos took priority in a household and became central to their way of life. It became the entertainment of the evening hours, something prized in the family estate. Without our modern day electronics and entertainments sources, people relied on their pianos for living a cultured and enjoyable lifestyle.

Pianos from the 1940s and before have one distinct difference over pianos built today: they were built completely by hand, with a great deal of care and craftsmanship going into each one. They weren’t built in assembly line fashion, pushing out as many as possible each day. Each one was designed with time-honored traditions that made it as unique as the person who crafted it.

That’s not to say pianos today are completely built by machine. In higher end manufacturers, pianos still are created using time-honored traditions. They still use some of the handcrafting workmanship to produce a top of the line instrument. However, there are certain parts of the piano action that are made by machine, that can be refined by using technology.

That technology is what gives today’s pianos crisp, clean sounds that are replicated from piano to piano. And with vintage, every sound is distinctive.

There’s something sentimental about looking at a hundred year old piano and wondering the life it’s had throughout the years. What home has it sat in? What music has it played? Has it been a part of history, playing for local dignitaries from time to time?

Yes, through restoration, a vintage piano can produce music you will be proud to have played in your home. It can provide you with years of enjoyment, many hours of relaxation.

Whether you have a piano you would like to have restored, or are in the market, we can help you with all your needs.