The Restoration Process: Steinway & Sons once manufactured magnificent cast-iron harps (the heart of a piano) in their own New York foundry, but that foundry is long gone. Golden Era Steinways have those original NY foundry harps but new Steinway pianos do not. This is one of the reasons that new Steinways do not have the special Steinway “soul” that defines the Golden Era Steinway.

Just as no two Steinways pianos are exactly alike, no two Steinway pianos will necessarily require the same parts. It takes a highly sophisticated expertise to custom select the perfect action parts for each Steinway piano, and we pride ourselves in possessing the skills required to choose the ideal parts each unique Steinway will demand. While Steinway themselves were once among industry leaders when it came to the production of certain actions parts, their recent end to using their own New York factory-manufactured parts has played a role in the decline in the overall quality of their newer models (our opinion, shared by many technicians). At Faust Harrison Pianos, we pride ourselves in the constant evaluation of actions parts, and our refusal to install sub-par parts into our premier rebuilt Steinways. To further ensure our quality of work, every Steinway we rebuild needs to be approved by our Chief Concert Technician and our resident concert pianist, Sara Faust.

Hand-wound bass strings are essential to create a powerful bass sound. Less expensive, machine-wound bass strings used by many rebuilders do not produce the dramatic depth of sound that typifies our rebuilt Steinways.

White spruce is the preferred soundboard material for practically every high-end piano manufacturer, and for us. Our soundboard material, supplied by Bolduc, comes from Adirondack eastern white spruce trees, the finest in North America. Careful culling and seasoning of this wood yields premium soundboard material with unsurpassed tonal quality and durability. Steinways restored with other, lower cost soundboard materials do not perform as well as pianos that have soundboards made from premium white spruce.An exact fit of the carved soundboard to the inner cabinet rim, which we carefully achieve in every piano we rebuild, is essential for maximal sound projection. An imprecise fit, found in many other rebuilt Steinways, causes the sound to be weak and muffled.

The hard rock maple that we acquire from Bolduc yields bridge caps that are unmatched in purity and strength. Bridge pins set in this superior, rock-solid material provide solid anchors for the piano’s strings, which is essential for their tones to be steady and true. Steinways restored with other, lower cost bridge caps tend to produce tones that are imperfect and less stable.

Considerable effort is put into our hand-rubbed lacquer finishes, and the superior result is clear. With a quality not found in other pianos, our refinished piano cases have a rich, satin luster that compliments every other fine detail in our pianos. The rich finish is magnificent and fully worth the extra effort it takes to achieve. It is yet another one of the features in our rebuilt Steinways that distinguish them.

Our technicians are selected based on their skill, craftsmanship, and unparalleled passion for the work they do. The expertise required to install and calibrate the actions and dampers to our standards necessitates a level of efficiency rarely upheld today. Their rigorous in-house training is supplemented by additional tutelage at the top manufacturers in the World such as Fazioli, Yamaha, Bechstein, Renner USA & Bosendorfer. Our technicians have the furthered unique privilege of collaborating with the renowned staff at North Bennett Street Schools, aiding in the education of their students as they prepare to become the next generation of top piano engineers. With a history of producing some of North Bennett Street School’s expert instructors and guest lecturers, it is a pleasure for Faust Harrison Pianos to assist in preserving the art of piano restoration while engaging with budding piano professionals eager to learn from those at the top of their field. The dedication of these specialists not only to restoration, but to the piano trade as a whole, results in the highest quality rebuilt Steinways in the industry.

The efficiencies that we achieve with our volumes and refined manufacturing processes enable us to charge very competitive prices even though we provide the highest quality. Rebuilt Steinways sell for 20 – 30% less than the price of a new Steinway, and depreciate at a slower rate than new Steinways. As such, our fully rebuilt Golden Era Steinways are not only superior instruments, they are more affordable than new Steinway pianos and a much greater value.

Our 20-year warranty is a testament to the high quality of our work. Steinway pianos that we rebuilt 20 years ago are every bit as good today as the day they were rebuilt, and for the nearly 40 years that we have been in business, we have not had a single substantial warranty claim! Furthermore, our size and financial stability assures that we will be here to serve our clients long after many other piano rebuilders have moved on. Compare this to the record of Steinway & Sons; according to their last publicly available financial statements, their warranty claim expenses averaged over $1 million per year.