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Thanks Barrie - your response with information and suggestions are most helpful. I will definintely follow those up. I did not know about a string blanket, and will look into it.

Yes we seemed to have got side-trcaked from my initial question about cost of action overhaul. Thanks for the additional information anyway. I assumed EKA was talking about trade not wanting to buying the polished wire any longer. When I said it was probably because it was more exspensive, he said n...

Thanks for all that information and adivce, Collin. You asked about the soundboard restoration - it did in fact involve reshimming. EKA says they make their own bass strings and the treble strings are made of German wire that is, according to them, better than Roslau. They say they no longer use the...

I paid £5640 excl VAT for: 1) Repair and polish of soundboard with new soundboard decal, refinishing of frame in antique gold lacquer, , restringing and repinning of frame with best German EKA wire, new wrestpins and Bechstein frame cloths - this work was vsubcontracted to Early Keyboard Agency 2) R...

Barrie and Colin I should have mentioned that the piano was restrung, hence the stretching of the strings. That part of the work with the keyboard and frame restoration was done well. It is the action overhaul and the regulation work that have been done badly, hence my enquiry about a reasonable sum...

Thanks Barrie - I am afraixd the list sadly represents the work carried out and will need to be redone, this time by a different restorer. I need though to establish a reasonable figure to base my negotiations with the culprit restorer on, hence my query. I need to confirm whether your suggested c. ...

Action Overhaul Cost Could someone possibly help me to esabish what amount one can reasonably expect to pay for a professional and good quality overhaul involving the list below to the action/keyboard/damper assembly (incl parts and labour) of a 100-year old Bechstein Model B grand piano in the UK....

Thanks so much for all the valuable information Colin, I suspected their strings could possibly be from Roslau but I will give the EKA a ring to find out. As you say, there is not much I can do about the age of the strings and conditions they were kept in before restoration. I can only look after th...

Many thanks, you have been very informative and helpful. Unfortunately I do not have a broken down invoice to see how much the strings cost. I expected Rosslau strings, but after the restoration was told that Early Keyboard Agency wire was used. perhpas they are made by Rosslau? Is it possible for a...

Is it possible for new strings to begin to tarnish only one year after restringing in the workshop? The piano was delivered only four months ago ie approx 9 months after restringing, to a room where the humidity levels over the summer have been above 70% most of the time. The treble strings as well ...

Thank you ever so much.

South West England (Devon) Bechstein 6'8" c.1913

There is a minefield out there, I am coming realise in my searches, and I believe a number of dodgy people out there. I am at a great loss as to how to go about finding the right person to restore my early 19th century grand. There are, I hear, only a handful of expert and reputable restorers of old...

Thank you all for your expert comments and information. Correction : ] I have looked up my notes and see that Teflon was applied last week to the front rail pins. The key bushings were not replaced in the restoration process because the restorer said they were still perfectly good. If needing replac...

I think they are the rocker regulating screws?

Apparently it took ages to find the fault. Eventually pivot rocker centre pins were replaced with thicker pins. Noise on most keys went away as a result of this. It was a prominent metallic sounding click upon release of the keys. Initially Protec was used on the leather key bushings, and everything...

Just a further question - someone has warned that the actions of old pianos are/can be noisy, with particular reference to Bechstains made in the early 1900's. Is this true, and if a piano is well restored, is this necessarily the case? Can one expect a reasonably noise-free action from a restored i...

Many thanks for the helpful thoughts, Colin and Sussex Pianos, and for the valuable information - it will certainly help me in coming to a decision!

I am a piano teacher/pianist thinking about changing my current piano. The toss-up is a new one (such as a Yamaha grand), or an early 1900's newly traditionally restored German grand, such as a Bluthner or Bechstein. Although I prefer the sound of the traditional old German instruments, I just wonde...