In general terms, pianos are made up of three big pieces.

I ended up moving to Phoenix and started to build pianos under the Ravenscroft name. Ravenscroft offered me startup money if I was interested in giving it a try. Typically, guys like me don’t think like that because it’s cost prohibitive.

One Sunday morning, he asked me if I’d ever thought about really building my own pianos from the ground up. Later, I moved out of state, but occasionally Bob would still fly me back to Scottsdale to work on that piano. He decided to move forward and ended up using the piano I rebuilt for him for years. It wasn’t an easy fix, so I told him that he could either buy a new piano or we could find a used piano shell and build him a customized instrument that would cater to how he wanted to play. At one point, he asked me for advice on his old Baldwin concert grand, because he didn’t feel that the action was keeping up with him. I ended up servicing pianos for a man named Bob Ravenscroft, who had a really nice teaching studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, and who became a good friend. I’m a trained concert piano technician and used to be the head piano tech at Arizona State University.

How did you end up founding a high-end piano company? The hot tub is like having my own personal masseuse, and it gets my muscles loosened up for whatever physical tasks the day may bring. Other days, you’re locating the cast from a 500-pound iron frame. Somedays you’re like a watch builder or an artist, dialing in microscopic adjustments. Best selling product: Model 220 7-foot grand pianoįun Fact: A trained concert piano technician, Spreeman hand builds Ravenscroft’s grand pianos with the help of his son.Ĭoffee and time in the hot tub! Building pianos is a very physical endeavor, and it’s also unique.

Ravenscroft 275 Concert Grand Piano