Lindeblad Piano Restoration — Local services in Montville Township

We recently purchased a 1913 Hamburg Steinway O from Lindeblad Piano. We not only were able to purchase a wonderful instrument, but also walked away with the "best buying experience ever." From the initial extended dialogue with Todd over email, to speaking with Paul about the exact sound we were looking for, to the delivery process and setup of the first free tuning, I always felt I was treated like I was the only customer they had.

My wife and I have been considering making a more serious investment on a new piano to replace our $500 Casio Digital Piano. Our friends had recommended getting a Yamaha C3 (Made in Japan) given its popularity and relative consistency in quality. I started to scour through the internet on eBay and Craigs List. In dealing with some of the sellers I felt as if I was buying a used car, so unsure about the difference between original vs. restored vs. rebuilt. I was sure I was likely going to end up spending a lot of money and realize later that I overpayed for something I didn't understand how to differentiate.

But thankfully I ran into Lindeblad Piano online. The website was so informative on the benefits and process for purchasing a rebuild that I wanted to find out more. I sent an initial email and within 10 minutes I received a response back from Todd. Before I knew it, after some 20 or so emails throughout that first day, I learned the real benefit of a hand-made Steinway and why they sounded so good. The real genuine and lightning fast responses sold me real quickly both on the Steinway and Lindeblad. I had considered taking a subway ride to another reputable Steinway restorer near Carnegie Hall in Manhattan where I work, but I quickly realized through that initial dialogue that it wouldn't be necessary.

We were set on a 1920 M they had just purchased from Virginia and were ready to have it customized to our hearts content. It would take 12 weeks but we would have 30 days to return no questions asked if we didn't like the sound. For me it was a win-win proposition and believe it or not, we put in a deposit for the 1920 M at the end of that first day I initiated contact. The next day, we had a surprise treat for us from Lindeblad Piano come in over the mail thanking us for choosing them. I won't spoil it, but it was completely unexpected but spoke to the immaculate attention to detail on every aspect of the experience.

As part of the process, my wife and I decided to take a trip to the showroom given we live in Jersey to figure out what kind of sound and action we'd enjoy. After playing over 10 of the pianos we kept on coming back to the Hamburg O. The piano just sounded beautiful with many of the high notes bell-like. But the O was significantly higher than the 1920 M and was much more than we wanted to pay.

We told Paul we wanted him to be able to replicate the Hamburg O sound onto the 1920 M. He quickly told me that it would be a very difficult task given they were two very different pianos being of different sizes and from two different factories of Hamburg vs. New York. But if my heart was set on the O they could try to make it work for us. After some discussion, they gave us a wonderful deal we couldn't pass up.

The piano came in two days ago. It looks like a new piano (though it's over 100 years old) and sounds even better than at the showroom. I'm sure we will own this piano for many years to come and will definitely become a family heirloom. In a few weeks, the tuner Dan Buchanan who used to work for Steinway will do our first complementary tuning courtesy of Lindeblad.

All in all, I've probably sent over 40 emails and had numerous calls with Todd and Paul and not once I felt pressured or uncomfortable throughout the process. They even dug up the fascinating story of how this piano was purchased in 1970 by a professional opera singer who took this piano around the world for nearly 30 years.

In business school I studied about how the best businesses learn how to "delight" their customers. I experienced it first hand...

For anyone considering a restoration of your piano, you MUST choose Lindeblad! They are AMAZING! The customer service and care was truly top notch and my piano is STUNNING given their high quality standards and attention to detail! It can be challenging to find a company that makes you feel like you are genuinely their most important client, a family business that takes pride in their work and truly cares about their craft, and one that takes the time to really step you through everything and deliver quality workmanship exceeding your expectations.

I had an old AB Chase piano that I wasn't sure was worth restoring. It had sentimental value as it was chosen for my Dad when he was a young boy and my mom, who was quite a gifted pianist, played it as long as I can remember. My mom passed from cancer and willed the piano to me. But in the last years of her life, some unfortunate events (including a major roof leak while my mom was away), left the piano in very poor condition.

I found Lindeblad and reached out to them to see what was possible. From the very first phone call, I felt like I was speaking to a friend that truly cared. I decided to have them evaluate the piano to see if it could be restored/repaired. They scheduled a pick up to get the piano (located south of Pittsburgh, PA). That process was amazingly smooth and what a professional job picking up this piano in such bad shape! They treated it like it was worth a million bucks! I was impressed with the level of care and attention from the very first experience. Then I was so impressed by the evaluation of my piano. Personal phone calls about the options, videos sent about the different aspects of my piano so I could hear and see the explanations of what needed to be repaired, and recommendations to consider. I can't explain the level of immediate trust but it was there. No overselling just a wonderful discussion about what would be best for me. I decided to go ahead with the restoration and I am so thankful that I did. The results blew me away! I can't tell you the emotion that I felt when I saw my piano arrive. It was beyond stunning and better than I could have ever imagined! I had always remembered the piano with a dark, almost black finish but during the process, Rob called to talk to me about my desired finish and shared that the wood was actually tiger mahogany. Through samples that they sent quickly to give me an idea of the possible finish, I went with the option to show the beauty of the wood and it is gorgeous! I am amazed with the quality workmanship and repairs! There were so many issues with the piano and to see it now, I am still blown away that it is the same piano! The delivery service was just as fantastic as the pick up. They did an amazing job taking such wonderful care in bringing the piano to NC to our new home and placing it exactly where we wanted it. A fantastic job!

Another wonderful thing about Lindeblad was their help in storing the piano for me longer than I had expected. We were in the middle of finishing the build of our new home and with the pandemic, everything was delayed. We ended up moving into our home 9 months later than expected. Lindeblad worked with me and a storage option with them to keep the piano safe until we were ready for delivery to NC. At each point in the process, everything was smooth and connected. You never felt like you were talking to different "departments" but really just members of the family taking care of you that knew everything about what was going on.

I honestly think that working with Lindeblad has been the best experience that I have ever had in working with any company that I can remember. They are amazing people that truly care and I would give them 10 stars if I could in the review! My heartfelt thanks to Lindeblad for their amazing work to restore my piano to such a stunning masterpiece, the wonderful experience, and for my piano that sounds more beautiful than I remember! I know that I will enjoy playing the piano for many...

We had the pleasure of traveling to New Jersey to meet with Todd Lindeblad at his company headquarters, and to see first-hand what goes into a full restoration of a Steinway through their process. Right from the start, we received a warm welcome from Todd, a comprehensive tour of their showroom and many finished pianos, and then we visited the factory. Todd was amazing, very attentive and informative. He answered all of our questions patiently, told great stories about some of the pianos from around the world that Lindeblad Pianos have restored. He also talked about the nature of this business as a multi-generational family mission and passion, which is a large part of what makes a Lindeblad restoration so special. During our factory tour, we were blown away by the very evident old-world craftsmanship and the obvious passion and attention to detail demonstrated by everyone that we interacted with. The warmth, friendliness, and open accessibility to the expert craftsmen on the production floor really made us feel confident in our contemplation of Lindeblad Pianos as a great option. We interacted with many of Lindeblad’s craftsmen and specialists, including an impressively experienced technician named Galo who explained a new soundboard that he was installing as part of another restoration process (we later had him sign our piano!). We looked at many options, balancing condition, cost, features, and ultimately selected a beautiful, sturdy 1926 Steinway Model B from their extensive pre-restoration inventory. Todd helped us understand and walk-through examples of every step of the restoration process, so that we could intelligently make various selections around the ultimate configuration of our particular restoration project. This further instilled confidence in the entire process and bolstered our experience as a customer as we interacted with the actual people performing the necessary work to re-craft these special instruments. The restoration finish we chose was a two-toned configuration that is really unique and stunning – a glossy hand-polished piano-black outside, and a custom-laminated cherry-stained interior that elegantly features both the external and internal beauty of our Steinway. We grew a lot of confidence by seeing in-person what the Lindeblad Piano people do, how they do it, all in an atmosphere so obviously filled with genuine passion for these instruments – coupled with so many impressive, combined years of experience in doing this specialized work – some even having learned this craft building brand-new Steinways over decades before coming to Lindeblad Pianos. This simply made us feel very comfortable – and even excited – about going the restoration route vs. pursuing a brand-new piano, or alternately buying a second-hand piano “as-is” out in the open market, where it seems the risks can be quite high relative to condition, remaining life, cost, value, etc. We are very fortunate in that all four of our sons have also cultivated and invested in the joy of making music while they were growing up. All of them play, and among our greatest memories are spending time with them, watching and listening to them master various pieces of music that they learned to play on the piano. Our Lindeblad-restored 1926 Steinway Model B is a stunningly beautiful, customized piano that is already a true heirloom piece for our family. We are so pleased to have made this investment, and to be able to continue building new memories when our boys, friends, etc. visit our home and play this special yet accessible instrument. This is now the perfect instrument for us to use together, to continue to build upon our mutual love of music, fellowship, laughter and emotional bonding that quality pianos are just so good at facilitating. We absolutely love our “new” / Lindeblad-restored Steinway, and we will continue to fondly remember and recount to others about the truly special experience we had in working with your company.

Matt and Linda Bratenahl,...