How does a Beethoven Pianos rebuilt Steinway differ from a new Steinway piano?

Steinway & Sons Pianos at Beethoven Pianos

The name Steinway is synonymous with quality and excellence. No compromise is EVER made. Steinway Pianos are hand built, following a tradition of integrity, innovation and paramount craftsmanship that dates back to 1853. Today, more than 98% of the world's active concert pianists choose Steinway Pianos for their performances.

Steinway Grand Pianos

Steinway grand pianos are ganerally considered to be the finest pianos in the world. The majority of our restored and used Steinway pianos date from what some call the "golden age" -- the period around the turn of the century to World War II. Certainly during this period the level of craftsmanship of Steinway was at its peak. Our restored vintage Steinway grand pianos represent some of the finest pianos available on the market today.

The basic structure of pianos affects the quality of an instrument's sound. Little doubt exist among experts that older Steinway instruments are superior in quality to the instruments made today. The external and internal parts of a piano can wear down through time such that a piano must be periodically rebuilt. Rebuilt pianos are superior sounding instruments that cost less than newer instruments, but which maintain their value over generations

Warranty on Steinway Pianos: Beethoven Pianos warrants their rebuilt Steinways for a period of 10 years, whereas a new Steinway is warranted for 5 years. Our warranty covers the same things as a Steinway warranty. The Steinway Piano Cast Iron Harp: Most experts agree that the harp is one of the most important elements of a piano. Up until World War II, Steinway cast their iron harps in their own foundry. Harps made after World War II come from non-Steinway commercial foundries. Most experts also agree that instruments featuring harps cast from Steinway foundries are the best instruments ever made. Most of the Steinways we rebuild or refinish are from the "Golden Era" of Steinway and Sons, prior to World War II and possess harps made from original Steinway foundries.

The Action At Beethoven Pianos:

We only use parts manufactured by Renner. Renner is an action parts manufacturer based in Germany whose beginnings date back to circa 1882. Most rebuilders agree that Renner parts are superior in quality and workmanship. While Renner is our favorite manufacturer of piano parts, our pick for hammers is New York Steinway. Hammers made by New York Steinway are very soft and require several voicings to extract sufficient tone from them, but the extra effort is well worth it. These hammers can be tweaked to precision and voiced to a tone that satisfies even the most demanding customer.

The Singing Strings:

Traditionally, bass strings were wound by hand. With the advent of computerized machinery, these strings are now wound in factories and produce sounds adequate for most pianos. However, they lack the superb singing tone only found in hand-wound strings. For this reason, Beethoven Pianos uses only hand-wound strings in our rebuilt pianos.

Steinway Piano Finishes:

The typical Steinway piano finished during the early part of the 20th century had higher polish finishes. Even today, when you request a higher polish finish from a cabinetmaker he says "Oh, you want a piano finish." Nowadays, many customers prefer a hand-rubbed lacquer finish. We therefore give our customers a choice: High polish lacquer finish (easiest to clean) Hand-rubbed stain lacquer finish Semi-luster lacquer finish French polish.

Soundboards and Bridges on our Rebuilt & Used Steinway Pianos:

We select only the best spruce soundboards and quarter-sawn hard-rock maple bridges to produce not only superior tonal quality, but also durability, which allows us to give an unmatched 10 year warranty.

Craftsmanship: At the heart of Beethoven Pianos' services is our 34,000 square foot rebuilding and storage facility in the Bronx. With a keen eye for detail, our skilled craftsmen rebuild and restore quality pianos every day. We offer a full range of restoration services from building soundboards to wood refinishing. Our craftsmen maintain only the highest industry standards. We have been able to secure the top craftsmen in the greater New York area for the restoration of Steinway grand pianos. Beethoven Pianos' craftsmen who restore our typical Steinways have a combined total of over 200 years of Steinway factory or restoration experience.

Commitment to Excellence:

For over 35 years our family-owned company has worked hard to set the bar for excellence in piano restoration higher and higher so that we can state we are second to none.

Steinway Piano Prices:

Beethoven Pianos normally maintains up to 100 Steinways of all sizes from the smalels (5'1'"model S) to the largest (6'1"Model D). At any one time, about 1/3 of these pianos are complete and ready to play whil the others are in the process of being restored. Most of these Steinway Pianos we sell are fully rebuilt and refinished "vintage era" grands that generally cost from 20% to 25% less than comprable models. Many of these restored Steinway Pianos look, feel and sound like new. However, these are more attractive than new Steinways because they cost about 25% less than new and because they are fully backed by Beethoven Pianos's ten-year guarantee on rebuilt Steinway Pianos.

Purchasing a Rebuilt Steinway Piano:

Pleast take time to browse the dozens of Steinway pianos on this website and feel free to contact us about the many services we offer to you.

We offer piano rebuilding, refinishing, concert and private rentals, tuning, moving, piano storage, and a variety of technical support to any piano owner.