create a sound the modern piano FORGOT
Let us create the Chickering sound for You
For more information:
Pre-modern piano work requires…
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Replication of obsolete parts
Action parts for these pianos are not in current production. This means we replicate original parts as necessary. We have the machinery, appropriate stock… Read more
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Lightly stressed soundboard
The envied textural clarity as well as pitch clarity these pre-modern pianos possess are produced by low compression, low stress soundboards, with minimal crown… Read more
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Soft light hammers
Heavy and /or hard felt modern hammers cannot produce the pre-modern sound we are looking for. We use a very soft version of Weikert… Read more
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High action leverage
Chickering produced outstanding Erard and Brown style actions. We retain the original actions and their geometries. Pianists often comment on how “they play themselves”,… Read more
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Appropriate string materials
Current research suggests that the tensile strength of pre-modern piano wire differed from that of modern piano wire. For this reason, we use Paulello… Read more
Current Offerings
I have finished rebuilt pianos for sale at times. I also have an inventory of pianos ready to be commissioned for rebuilding.
About Jim
Pianist, composer
Monteverdi, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Stravinsky, Ives, Bartok, Gershwin, Debussy, Monk, Evans….these are my aural lineage.
As a pianist I am an artist. My medium is sound. I think and hear with my hands.
Artisan
As a piano rebuilder, I am an artisan. My medium remains above all, sound. Like the pianist, I think and hear with my hands.
This is how I proceed in the shop:
First, I work through the concept, research it, draw it, chat with colleagues. Then, I go out to the shop and follow my hands. The task becomes a dance; thought in motion. I really love this part of the work.
Historic conservator
Earlier on, I reproduced sash for historic buildings.
Versed in historic and traditional design, respecting traditional aesthetics, moving the aesthetic to encompass other ways of looking at the traditional.
Jim’s “Through the Looking Glass”
Knabe Signature Piano Restoration
Download High Resolution Recordings of a Jim Ialeggio re-created Chickering
Ask About Pianos
Contact me to learn more about my services and available instruments.