i am consider buying a restored steinway m but am finding very little in terms of reviews on theshops who restore and rebuild them. Steinway Model Ms at places such as Lindenblad or Country Piano run in the mid 20s whereas AC PianoCraft and Faust and Harrison run at least 15 thousand more. Beside exterior finish, is there a huge difference in quality and sound between the steinways restored at the smaller shops and the fancier ones? If I can only afford one from Lindenblad or Country Piano is it worth the money or should i just buy a new yamaha C2?

I would first assess whether the exact items as for restoration were addressed as in shop A vrs shop B. A major expenditure is that of a new soundboard,bridges,ribs,keyset and maybe the damper action.
Aside from the build quality the big question is "Does this piano play and sound like it is worth 15K more"

Dear Giant,

There are certainly differences. When you are buying a rebuild you are buying the rebuilder, their experience, their techniques, their quality control, etc.

For instance, if a particular rebuilder installs a soundboard in 4 days and another rebuilder takes 2 weeks, there will be many differences. Are the tolerances the same? Is one using rib crowning and another NOT using this technique? What kind of control is put into each process from procurement of materials to preparation to execution? Multiply this by each task that must be performed in an artistic rebuild.

These are important questions to ask. Some may have a goal of putting out a product that is reasonable in price and performance. Others have a passion and their goal is to to carefully provide the finest artistic quality possible. My advice is to play some of these pianos, listen to the differences, and if you do not realize any differences, choose the cheaper piano.

WARNING: Auditioning a piano critically in this way may cause you to fall in love. Your piano dream will be realized, but your pocketbook may not be happy with the result.

My 2 cents,