Should I have my piano rebuilt or buy a new one?
This is a question I get asked quite frequently and it is an easy one to answer.
Now remember we are talking about a full rebuild not a cosmetic restoration.
The difference between the two is vast and needs to be explained.
A full rebuild is a ground up restoration involving making the piano almost new again both inside and out.
This involves replacing most parts including the sound board and pin block and a full case restoration.
A cosmetic restoration is usually used to make a piano presentable on the outside with extraordinarily little done to the interior of the piano to make it a better instrument than it was before the work was done.
Full rebuilds should cost around $20,000 and up. Anything less would cause me to believe that inferior work or parts are involved.
Cosmetic restorations can cost $3,000 - $4,000, but remember you still have the same piano it only looks better but its usable life is not extended at all.
Having explained the differences between the two, lets answer the question at hand. In my opinion, and in the opinion of most of the reputable rebuilders working today, there are only a few pianos that are worth a full restoration.
There are a couple of serious caveats on this one.
First the value vs. cost factor is as stated above, and you must be aware of the unscrupulous tech that tells you that old no name piano you got from your aunt is a rare, superior instrument that is worth the cost of a rebuild. They are looking for the job. 99.9% of the time this is an easily debunked untruth.
A new high-quality piano with a good warranty from a reputable retailer is trouble-free and worth the money.
Those are the facts as I know them, make the best choice for you.
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Every year, tens of thousands of adults decide that this is finally the year they learn piano. Some were told as children that they had no talent. Some simply never had access to an instrument. Many watched a video online — a performance so beautiful or so unexpectedly moving that the only reasonable response was to find out what it would take to do that themselves.
Walk through any piano showroom today and ask the staff what's bringing new customers through the door. The answer, with surprising frequency, is a name — Yunchan Lim — or a platform — TikTok. The viral explosion of classical piano performance on short-form video is not a marketing campaign dreamed up by record labels or conservatories. It is an organic, viewer-driven phenomenon that is reshaping who listens to classical music, who buys pianos, and what they want to play when they get home.
Piano manufacturing is, by its nature, a materials-intensive craft. A modern grand piano contains roughly 12,000 individual components. It requires carefully selected hardwoods — spruce, maple, beech, walnut — sourced from forests in multiple countries. It uses felt, leather, metal alloys, and chemical finishes. Building one well takes skilled labor spanning months.