Our Blűthner grand piano is being tuned as I write this. It was built in 1938 which was when these skills were at their best, using timbers that had been cut and stored for seasoning for some years before being brought into the factory.

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The Blüthner's patented 4th string Aliquot system is fitted from the G above middle C upwards to the higher registers. This is a unique system that adds resonance to a piano in the home rather than a concert hall. These instruments were sometimes known as boudoir grands. The complex key action mechanism consists of over 3000 parts, which harmonise with each other in a delicate balance. It always strikes me as extraordinary that the mechanism works so perfectly after 82 years. True the tuner may make a minor adjustment to one or two hammers that don't fall back quickly enough on repeated notes, but the key actin is far better than my knee joints which are of the same age.

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I bought this first in 1977 from Gamlin Pianos when this piano was 39 years old and at that stage I had it refurbished because it had been in storage for years and needed some TLC. A chap called Bob Gardner worked on the mechanism before he opened his own business which now employs his family. I engaged an excellent French Polisher to refinish the casework. Nothing more has been done, other than to keep it in a room with reasonably stable humidity and temperature and have it tuned annually.

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I believe we have the best piano in Penarth.  Suffice it to say I play it with enormous pleasure whenever I sit at the keyboard.