Restringing a piano can cost anywhere from $1,000 to as much as $10,000. The final price depends largely on the type of piano you have and whether there are any additional repairs or complications involved.
In many cases, the cost of restringing a piano can actually be higher than the piano’s current value. That’s why it’s important to understand what contributes to this expense, how often restringing is needed, and what alternative options are available to help you improve your piano’s condition without spending a fortune.
Keep reading to learn what really goes into the cost of restringing and how you can make the best decision for your instrument and your budget.
How Much Does It Cost to Restring a Piano?
Tuning your piano once or twice a year is usually enough to keep it sounding good. But over time, you’ll reach a point where tuning alone won’t do the job. Piano strings eventually wear out, and the tuning pins can become loose, making it difficult to keep the instrument in tune. When that happens, restringing becomes necessary.
The cost to restring a piano can vary widely, depending on the type and condition of the piano. In general, you can expect to pay anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. Upright pianos usually fall on the lower end of the scale, with restringing costs ranging from $2,000 to $4,000. Baby grand and full grand pianos are more complex and typically cost between $4,000 and $10,000 to restring.
In some cases, you might not need to restring the entire piano. Some technicians offer pricing per string, which can be helpful if only a few strings need replacement. However, even this option can get expensive—costs often hover around $50 per string. Since each octave has 12 notes and most notes use more than one string, replacing just one octave could still run into the thousands.
Regular tuning and maintenance are important, but when restringing becomes necessary, be prepared for a significant investment—especially if you’re working with a high-quality grand piano.
Cost Factors
When it comes to restringing a piano, the cost of materials is usually quite low compared to the labor involved. Piano strings typically cost around $2 each, and this price can be even less if a technician makes the strings using piano wire.
The total cost for a full set of strings usually falls between $250 and $400, depending on the quality of the strings you choose.
If tuning pins need to be replaced during the restringing process, a set of 12 pins generally costs about $20. However, technicians might be able to source them for less. The price can vary based on how many pins need replacing and the size of the new pins.
The biggest factors influencing the overall cost of restringing a piano are mostly related to labor rather than materials. These include:
The technician’s experience and skill level
The type and model of piano being restringed
Whether you need to replace all the strings or just a portion
The going rates for piano work in your local area
Restringing a piano is a complex and time-consuming task, much more involved than restringing smaller instruments like guitars. Because of this, the labor costs tend to be the largest part of the total price.
The Process of Restringing a Piano
If you’ve ever watched a piano being restrung, you might already have some sense of how involved the process is. Piano technicians follow a careful series of steps to restring the instrument properly while avoiding any damage. This work demands patience, skill, and deep knowledge.
Preparation
The first step is to expose all the strings inside the piano. For an upright piano, this usually means carefully tipping the piano onto its back. Then, the technician removes the entire front section of the piano, including the keys, the action mechanism, and any panels covering the strings.
Once the strings are fully visible, they need to be loosened gradually in multiple passes. The strings on a typical piano hold an incredible amount of tension—over 30,000 pounds combined. This tension is necessary to produce the right pitch and tone, but it also makes the strings very sensitive to handling.
Cutting a string while it’s still under full tension can be extremely dangerous. When a tight string is clipped, it releases over 100 pounds of force instantly, which could damage the piano or even injure the technician. That’s why the strings are carefully eased off tension in stages, allowing the piano to adjust slowly.
After the strings are sufficiently loosened, the technician can safely cut them and begin removing the old tuning pins. If a piano needs restringing, it’s usually because the pins have become loose over time. This loosening creates larger holes in the pin block, making it difficult for the pins to hold the strings properly. Replacing the old pins with slightly larger ones is a key part of ensuring the new strings stay secure and sound great.
Adding New Strings
Replacing piano strings is often a challenging task for technicians, frequently compared to wrestling with a wild snake. Piano strings are made of solid steel and are much thicker than those on guitars or other stringed instruments. Because of their stiffness, these strings don’t bend easily and are prone to snapping if handled incorrectly. A careless move can send a string flying across the room, making the process even trickier.
Technicians need a combination of strength, skill, and patience to properly install new strings. It’s a delicate balance between applying enough force to secure the strings while being gentle enough to avoid damage.
Finishing Up
Once the new strings are in place, the job is far from over. Technicians must carefully retune the piano, a process that requires tuning and re-tuning each string multiple times. This step ensures the piano reaches the correct pitch without causing stress or harm to the instrument.
All in all, the entire string replacement process can easily take more than 20 hours of focused, detailed work. It’s a demanding job that requires both technical expertise and patience to get right.
How Often Should You Restring a Piano?
Generally, a piano doesn’t need to be restrung more than once every 30 years. If just a few strings are damaged or rusty, you can replace those individually without restringing the entire instrument. Full restringing is usually necessary only when multiple strings are worn out or broken.
In many cases, restoring an old piano by restringing it can be surprisingly expensive—sometimes even more than buying a new or gently used piano. Because of this, most people only consider restringing if the piano is of high quality, has sentimental value, or is an antique that requires special care.
More Affordable Repairs to Consider
Rather than restringing the whole piano, focusing on smaller repairs can often bring noticeable improvements without breaking the bank. For example:
Tuning typically costs between $100 and $200
Regulating the action runs around $500
Voicing to improve tone can also cost about $500
These repairs can significantly enhance the piano’s sound and playability at a fraction of the cost of restringing.
If your piano is in very poor condition and requires extensive repairs, it might make more sense financially to buy a nice used piano instead. You could even sell your old piano to help cover the cost or find creative ways to repurpose it—turning it into a unique shelf, desk, or table to give it a new life.