I've recently bought an ~80 year old Bluthner (4a?). The action seems to be in great condition, and the ivories are pristine. I'm looking for a Bluthner expert to inspect, regulate and maintain it. I'm in the Boston area. Any recommendations?

Call the North Bennet Street School Piano Department, 617-227-2357, and ask them. Good luck. (When I had some trouble regulating a Bluthner a few years ago, the nearest expert I could find was in Detroit. But I don't know everything about everything, there may in fact be one in this area.)

Larry Fine told me that he did not know of a Bluthner specialist in the Boston area. One of the techs he recommended for my Bluthner Model 2 teaches at the North Bennet Street School, and she has done a very nice job on my piano so far (2 visits).

It will also depend on whether it is an Erard action or a Blüthner action. You are not likely to find many people expert on the latter. In that case, you need to find someone who understands how actions work, rather then just following steps that they have learned.

rrattigan, welcome to the forum. And to the ranks of Bluthner owners on the forum! Does your piano have a modern action or the Bluthner Patent action? If the latter, your tech might find it helpful to refer to the advice on regulating the Bluthner Patent action, which can be found on the Bluthner UK web site, here. Bluthner UK are most helpful, you might get useful advice by telephoning them at +44 20 7753 0533.

You might try contacting Alex Hernandez in Sacramento. Email me privately if you would like his # or email address. Alex is associated with Bluthner as the national rep.

If it is 80 years old, it should have a standard Erard action. In that case, just get a "regular" good technician. Boston is crawling with techs, the Boston PTG chapter is one of the biggest in the country. Check the Tuner Technicians FAQ on how to find a good tech.

Thanks for the information everyone! I'm currently waiting for the piano to be refinished; when the piano is delivered I'll follow up some of these recommendations.

I'm pretty confident that the piano will have an Erard action at this point. It's a 1928 4a, and I think the Bluthner patent action was discontinued some time before this. It's good to know that there isn't anything unusual about this action that would benefit from a bluthner specialist, especially given that they are so hard to find!

I'm thinking of having Stanwood touch design system applied to the piano. Does anyone have any opinions on the merits of this? Also, what's the approximate cost of this procedure?