bechstein A grand - 1908

I’ve been tuning this Bechstein for around 35 years and have followed it around various homes in Norfolk until it ended up in a flat in central Norwich, where, due to the confines of city living, it became less played and the owner decided to sell it. Another client of mine was looking to upgrade and I introduced them. The piano was collected and shipped to my workshop where I undertook a complete interior restoration. As the piano was going to be used as a domestic and teaching instrument I took the decision to change the weight of stringing to create a more bell-like tone more in sympathy with the traditional Bechstein sound. The soundboard was repaired together with restorative work on the keyboard, action and dampers resulting in the finished product you see here. The whole process was catalogued by the professional photographer, Laurie Tallis, who has been kind enough to let me use her pictures here.