Courtney Pianos, The Piano Restoration Experts

Courtney Pianos owes its reputation as Piano restoration experts to our dedicated team of professionals. Here we ask them a few questions about their passion for restoration.

Courtney Pianos’ founder is David Hogben, who started in the industry in 1977, initially offering a tuning service and minor repairs throughout Oxford before establishing the first workshop and beginning to sell second-hand pianos.

David, why did you decide to set up Courtney Pianos?

I’ve always had a passion for the technical side of piano work; the fine-tuning and precise regulation; but I realised early on in my career that there was massive potential for taking older pianos, restoring them to their former glory and reselling to people who understand the inherent beauty of older instruments.

What prompted you to take on other people?

Whilst I am an expert in tuning pianos, I realised that there’s a lot more to piano restoration than making sure the instrument is tuned. I built a team of piano restoration experts around me to ensure we can cover all aspects of the restoration process.

What motivates you to keep going after 43 years in the business?

That’s an easy question to answer! I still get the same thrill as I did in the very beginning, watching a piano go from a poor state of repair to a polished and perfectly tuned instrument which will go on to give its owners years of service.

Another essential part of the Courtney team is Ade, a piano technician with over 30 years experience.

Ade, what’s your favourite part of your role?

As David says, it’s seeing how a sorry old piano can be made to function beautifully. The look on an owner’s face when we show them their piano after restoration is amazing and gives us all a real buzz.

What’s your speciality in the restoration process?

My main responsibilities include the action, keyboard and damper restoration of all the moving parts of the piano. Having worked on hundreds of instruments over the years I think I have a pretty good understanding of the intricacies of restoration – I’d even call myself an expert!

Could you ever imagine yourself doing something else for a living?

No! Absolutely not, when you have a job you love why would you look for something else?

Rob, Courtney’s in-house Polisher.

Rob, you’ve been with Courtney for 5 years and you learned your trade under the guidance of Barry, who had 40 years of experience with another restoration company, is that the case?

Yes indeed, sadly that company closed after he had worked there for 40 odd years, Barry couldn’t see himself doing anything else and didn’t want to retire. I consider myself really lucky to have been taught by such a master craftsman when I joined Courtney Pianos.

For those who don’t know, what is involved in working as a polisher?

We use traditional polishing methods to achieve varying finishes depending on what our customers need and want.

The most popular finish is a satin wax finish, which is similar to the original style of many of the instruments we work on.

You’ve been doing the job for some time now, is it safe to say you love it?

Absolutely! What I like most is sympathetically restoring very old pianos, which are often in a poor condition, back to their former glory.

I use traditional methods of hand polishing with more up to date polishes to achieve finishes that preserve the integrity and original style of the instrument.

It is the most satisfying job in the world, at least to me! The others have already said this, but when an owner sees how beautiful their piano looks when I’ve completed the polishing process I get a real sense of satisfaction.

Simon, Courtney’s in-house Stringing & Soundboard Expert.

Simon is a piano technician and tuner who has a wealth of experience in all aspects of piano restoration. Simon’s expertise is the restoration of the soundboard and consequent restringing of the majority of pianos that come into the Courtney Pianos workshop.

Simon, what do you see as the main challenge of your job?

Really the challenge is the variety of pianos that I work on and getting to know the nuances of all the different models, and ensuring that we can get the desired sound possible from each different piano.

Call The Piano Restoration Experts on 01865 790400 Today!

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