The Lindeblad Steinway Buyer’s Guide
Is a Restored Steinway Still a Steinway? A 30-Year Factory Veteran Answers
Steinway’s marketing calls a piano restored outside their authorized center a “Stein-was.” Their website says such a piano has lost “the internal magic.” Strong words. So instead of arguing, we put the question to the man who would know: Galo Torres spent 30 years at the Steinway factory, 20 of them inside Steinway’s own restoration department, before joining our shop. This is what he and the record actually say about each claim.
What is a “Stein-was”?
“Stein-was” is a term coined by Steinway’s marketing team: the claim that if a Steinway is restored by anyone else, it was a Steinway but isn’t anymore. Their published standard goes further: a piano must contain all 12,116 genuine Steinway parts, or it has lost what their website calls “the internal magic.”
We’d ask the question we asked on our livestream: is Steinway in the magic business, or the craftsmanship business?
Does Steinway make all 12,116 parts itself?
No, and it never has. Some of the most important components in a Steinway come from outside suppliers — the same suppliers independent restorers like us buy from.
Think of it the way we said it live: if you put the best tires on the market on a 1960s Ferrari, is it no longer a Ferrari? Of course it is. What makes a part authentic is three things: the right material, the exact dimensions, and the craftsmanship to install it to spec. Not the zip code it was installed in.
Can the Steinway soundboard really not be replicated?
The process can be, and is, replicated — by the same people who did it at Steinway. Our senior belly craftsman, Galo Torres, built and restored soundboards at the Steinway factory for three decades. He uses the same Alaskan Sitka spruce, shapes the crown on the same style of glue-bar tables, and follows the same measurements he was taught there.
When we asked him directly whether the “impossible to replicate” claim holds up, his answer was two words: “Very ridiculous.” And the lesson his Steinway teachers drilled into him on day one is the same one he teaches our apprentices now: don’t invent what’s been invented already. Follow the process.
One honest caveat, in his words too: soundboard replacement is genuinely difficult, and not every shop should attempt it. For years we didn’t do many soundboards ourselves — until Galo brought that expertise to us. The claim isn’t that anyone can do it. It’s that the people who did it at Steinway can do it anywhere.
The 5 claims, side by side with the record
| The claim | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| “Without all 12,116 Steinway parts, it’s not a Steinway.” | Steinway sources strings from Mapes, tuning pins from Germany, and from 1940–2000 its plates from the O.S. Kelly foundry. By this standard, most Steinways ever built would fail. |
| “The Steinway soundboard is impossible to replicate; without it the piano loses its internal magic.” | The man who built them at Steinway for 30 years builds ours, with the same Sitka spruce, dimensions, and process. Craftsmanship, not magic. |
| “Steinway’s pin block performs best.” | Vintage Steinways used 5-ply quarter-sawn hard rock maple. That is exactly what we install (Bolduc, cold-pressed). Steinway’s 7-ply hexagrid block must be shaved down ~1.5 layers to even fit a vintage piano. |
| “A new Steinway is a financial investment that beats the stock market.” | The New York Post reported buyers who said they were misled by exactly this pitch; prices drop sharply the moment a new piano leaves the showroom. Buy a Steinway for the music, not the portfolio. |
| “Only Steinway can restore a Steinway.” | Steinway stopped restoring pianos at its New York factory around 2021 and authorized a third party. The restoration is wherever the craftsmen are. |
Why does Steinway say this?
Because restored Steinways are their biggest competitor. Steinway itself used to say their pianos were “built to be rebuilt.” A properly restored golden-era Steinway delivers the instrument at roughly half the price of new — and every family that buys one is a family that didn’t buy new. We understand the business logic. We just think you deserve the facts before you spend $90,000 or more.
This page is the interview: what the man who did the work at Steinway says about the claims. For the complete picture — new vs. used vs. restored, the anatomy of a Steinway, sizing, and how the buying process works — see our full Steinway Buyer’s Guide, including its myth-by-myth chapter.
It’s also fair to say plainly: the caution isn’t baseless. Restoration is an unregulated industry, and there are bad restorations out there — we’ve seen them come through our doors. The answer isn’t “only buy new.” The answer is to ask any restorer the six questions that protect you, including us.
Questions buyers ask us
Is a restored Steinway still a real Steinway?
Yes. A Steinway restored with correct materials, to original dimensions, by qualified craftsmen remains a genuine Steinway. The design, the rim, the plate, and the scale are Steinway’s; restoration replaces worn parts the way Steinway itself intended when it said its pianos were built to be rebuilt.
What does “Stein-was” mean?
“Stein-was” is a marketing term from Steinway suggesting a piano restored outside its authorized center is no longer a true Steinway. It rests on the claim that all 12,116 parts must be Steinway-made, a standard Steinway’s own outsourced parts would not meet.
Does a restored Steinway hold its value?
A restored Steinway avoids the steep first-owner depreciation of a new piano and tends to hold value well. The New York Post reported buyers who felt misled by claims that new Steinways appreciate; in practice, prices fall sharply once a new piano leaves the showroom.
Who restores Steinways better, Steinway or an independent shop?
It depends entirely on the craftsmen. Steinway no longer restores pianos at its New York factory; an authorized third party does. Independent shops range from excellent to poor. Judge any restorer, including us, by who does the work, what gets replaced, and the warranty behind it.
What questions should I ask before buying a restored Steinway?
Six essentials: When was it restored? Who did the work? What exactly was replaced? Are the parts historically accurate? Was the work done in-house? Is there a real warranty? Any reputable shop will answer all six in writing without hesitation.
The bottom line
Our family has restored pianos for over 100 years. My grandfather worked for Steinway in New York before the shop moved to New Jersey, and today five Lindeblads work alongside craftsmen who spent 30, 8, and 5 years inside the Steinway factory itself. We don’t need Steinway to be wrong for our pianos to be right — new Steinways are excellent instruments, and if you buy one, God bless you. But when marketing tells you that craftsmanship is “magic” that can’t leave a building in Queens, ask the man who carried it out the door.
