About Us

Shaffer Pianos (located between Albany and Saratoga, NY) is solely operated by brothers Jeff and Ron Shaffer, who started restoring antique pianos more than twenty years ago out of a respect for pianos as sophisticated and fascinating machines.

Jeff had been restoring antique furniture and cars for years before focusing solely on antique pianos. Ron Shaffer has a background in classical piano performing and has given concerts in piano and harpsichord. We have been involved with the Piano Technician's Guild and research in the field and continually expand our knowledge of antique piano restoration through workshops, conferences, and dialogue with colleagues.

At Shaffer Pianos, we perform all work ourselves from refinishing to action rebuilding, restoring each piano carefully and methodically. We do not hire cheap labor, contract out or send pianos to Mexico to be refurbished (a recent practice of some restorers) to focus on volume. It may take us many months to completely restore one quality piano because we believe it takes time to get to know each instrument thoroughly. All pianos have strengths and weaknesses and these characteristics must be considered during the restoration process.

We believe in restoring antique pianos to only the highest standards possible, using only direct replacement parts when available (e.g. Steinway parts in a Steinway piano). On rare European pianos we will only use the closest to original materials available today (wire, felts, leathers), regardless of their higher costs to us.

When purchasing a used piano for restoration, we ensure that the instrument is already in good, restorable (preferably original) condition. This provides the customer with a finer antique.

In addition to the sales of fully restored antique pianos, we offer rebuilding, restoration and refinishing services. We can arrange piano delivery anywhere in the U.S. and overseas.

 

 

PIANO MOVING We always exercise care when moving pianos and only work with the most careful piano movers.
WRONG The fine concert grand piano below was moved by antiques dealers to an auction house.   Ø  The straps can ruin the finish and damage the veneer. Ø  The uncovered piano can be scratched. Ø  The short moving board leaves the tail of the piano susceptible to damage especially when coming down stairs. Ø  The short board lacks stability.	CORRECT The photo below shows our piano movers.    Ø  Notice how the piano is covered with heavy padded blankets. Ø The piano is resting on a full-size moving board.
One of Our Restored Pianos Carefully Padded, Crated and Heading to the Port for Taiwan.