18th September 2010

Dear Martin, Roger, Danny and all the Restoration Team,

We are writing to offer our sincere thanks after the amazing restoration of our Steinway Model O grand
piano. It is now a fantastic looking instrument to match the beautiful tone and acoustics of a Steinway &
Son instrument.

Having played an upright piano for almost 12 years when I was a teenager, I decided to purchased a
Steinway model O grand piano for our newly built dwelling in the Republic of Ireland. From a young age
this had always been a dream to own and play a beautiful grand piano.

Earlier this year, we purchased the piano at an auction in the UK. Although somewhat risky, we received
expert advice from a number of experienced sources before and at the auction. The piano chosen was a
Steinway Model O. Its case was in very poor condition visually but the quality of sound from its acoustics
was excellent - it had obvious potential. Having contacted Steinway directly I obtained a history on the
instrument: It was made in Hamburg in the late 1888's, shipped to the Steinway Hall in London in 1889
and sold to a Mr J Martin in Streatham Hill, London in 1890.

In May 1999, Steinway & Sons in London semi restored the piano at the request of its owner and to a
specific budget. Unfortunately it was not played a lot over the last decade and had been left in a damp
environment. This is where Martin and his colleagues at Titterington Peck Pianos helped us.

Having previously discussed the piano with Martin and having reviewed some of his previous
restorations, the piano was collected and brought to their workshop in Preston. After a period of time for
drying, the instrument was assessed and a number of restoration options were presented by Martin.
The piano was in a moderate condition but we were advised that it would have benefited from a
thorough restoration.

After careful consideration, we got the case fully restored to a burl walnut finish, the acoustic body -
soundboard was retained but cleaned and varnished, new pin block installed and the action fully
restored. The original ivory keys were cleaned and re-polished. During the restoration phase we
received photographs and video clips on a regular basis.

The piano was returned to us last weekend and is setup in the sitting room of our dwelling house. It was
hard to believe initially that it was the same piano. The quality of the workmanship was amazing with
exquisite attention to detail. I have been in undated with requests from relations, friends and neighbours
asking where they can get this quality of instrument and restoration. My piano teacher of almost 20
years ago played the piano and was literally speechless. I have no doubt that this may open up more
doors for Titterington Peck Pianos on this side of the water.

If anyone is considering having their precious piano restored or looking to buy a previously restored
piano the I would highly recommend Titterington Peck Pianos.

Thanks again Martin and to all at Titterington Peck Pianos.

Best Regards,

John & Caroline Fitzpatrick

Republic of Ireland

29 June 2010

We would both like to thank you once again for your wonderful guidance and service in achieving the most beautiful addition to our home. I think you already know that she will be well cared for and played for many hours in the years to come!!

Six months ago my wife and I walked into a showroom/workshop of a small company in Preston to start our education on the subject of baby grand pianos. Our daughters had recently shown an interest in the piano and our original intention was to buy a relatively old inexpensive piano for them to learn the art.

After less than half an hour in the company of the proprietors,  we felt we had learnt enough to dissuade us from our initial instincts.

In reality it became clear that this was not just a musical instrument but an investment if approached correctly over the long term, which would also double as an addition to our furniture collection.

Within an hour we had enough information to allow us to investigate elsewhere and corroborate the suggestions made. At every turn, the suggestions were backed up by other industry experts all of whom were trying to sell us a piano. Within a week we had made our decision to return to T P Pianos to request a search for a particular style and quality of piano, which would fit the criteria of musical instrument, furniture and investment. Four months later we are the proud owners of  a magnificent Bechstein piano, which has been achieved with very little pain and the feeling that we have been treated with service levels rarely experienced in today’s commercial world.

The piano that we now own has been refurbished to fit in perfectly with our existing furniture and I have been reliably informed by experienced pianists, that the quality of sound is excellent. Our gratitude to all who worked on her!!

17 May 2010

Dear Martin

I wish to record my sincere thanks for the work done by Titterington Peck to restore our Dorner upright paino. It is truly amazing.

The piano belonged for many years  to my mother who died last year age 94 and was bequeathed to my younger daughter in her will. It therefore had great sentimental value. My mother had been a keen pianist but had not been able to play the piano for some years. It had been kept in an empty house for several years and then for the last 3 years in my garage. After my mother's death we decided that we should have the piano restored in her memory.It was in generally good condition apart from the black lacquer finish.

Titterington Peck provided me with a detailed quotation for the work and in February they took the piano away advising that the work would take approximately 3 months.A few weeks later I received a phone call from Martin to say that he had two surprises for us and arranged to come to my house.The first surprise was that underneath the black lacquer they had discovered the original burr walniut finish and he showed us the side of the keyboard which he had brought with him and also a series of pictures of the piano in the workshop. We immediatrly decided to keep the original finish. The second surprise was that inside the piano they had found a small purse with several ladies rings and a box with a mans ring. We immediately recognised these as belonging to my late parents but which had been missing for several years and which we assumed my mother had lost. These again have great sentimental value and are now in the possession of her grandchildren. It would have been so easy for the discovery of the rings not to have been brought to our attention. This speaks volumes for the integrity and values of Titterington Peck.

The piano was returned last weekend and is now installed in my daughter's house. The quality of the work and the attention to detail has to be seen to be believed. The piano looks as if it has just left the Dorner factory in the late 1890s. My mother will be literally in heaven at the sight it.

Best wishes

Gary Conlon

Re: Recent restoration of my Bluthner Grand Piano

Dear Roger, Martin and all the Restoration Team,

I am writing to formally express my sincere gratitude to your company
for the totally magnificent restoration of my Bluthner Grand.

From the outset, the service you have provided has surpassed my
expectations in every respect. Your staff were the quintessence of
helpfulness and professionalism at every stage, from providing me with a
detailed list of the restoration to be completed, removal of the piano,
telephone contact during the restoration process, to its return and
beyond, with the tunings that were performed once the piano was safely
in position again in my living room.

I was totally astounded when my Bluthner returned: the restoration has
transformed the piano to its former glory. It is now a visually stunning
instrument to behold, with a perfectly responsive action, and
beautifully rich and bright sound quality.

To anyone wishing to have their precious piano restored, look no further
than Titterington Peck Pianos. I recommend them without hesitation and
without reservation.

With best wishes and thanks again to you all,

Lord Stephen Priestley.

1st October 2007

Earlier this year, we requested a quotation for restoration of an 1892 Bechstein V grand piano.  Titterington Peck Pianos in Preston were one of the companies that we contacted for a quotatio

Theirs was the cheapest of the quotations and, after viewing the quality of their work in their showroom, we agreed to proceed with the restoration. 

The piano was removed very professionally in June/July, shipped to their workshops for its restoration and delivered back to us, on-time, in September having apparently had 700-1000 man hours of work carried out on it 

We can fully vouch for the quality of the restoration, which extends to every part of the piano's structure and mechanism.  Every item from the castors up has been meticulously polished and restored, or replaced.  We were told to expect that we would not recognise the piano and this is certainly true.  The item which we sent away was very dirty and dusty and, after many years of neglect, the rosewood case had completely lost any visible grain or beauty, simply being a dull matt brown colour.  The frame was dull and stained. The ivory keys were stained and dirty. The best aspect of all regarding the restoration is the way that the beauty of the original rosewood case has been brought out.  The finish is mirror like and the wood has been beautifully restored to bring out the original grain and colour.  Similarly, the frame has been regilded to a very high standard.  I have seen other restorations where the regilding process has resulted in runs and pooling, with an uneven and unsatisfactory finish.  This is clearly not the case in this particular restoration.  We look forward to a follow up visit from Maurice Peck or James Titterington, both expert tuners and restorers, who will carry out the final setting up of the piano, which already sounds beautiful. 

We are absolutely delighted with the standard of this restoration which has exceeded our already high hopes.  It is always difficult handing over any cherished instrument but, after seeing the quality of this restoration, we can comprehensively vouch for both the quality and value for money that Titterington Peck  and their craftsmen can provide. 

It is a measure of the quality of this restoration that we are now planning to send a second Steinway grand piano from within the family to Titterington Peck, and we now have every confidence that this will be subjected to the same highest possible quality of restoration. 

In summary, we can comprehensively recommend Titterington Peck  and their restorers to any potential customer as providing the highest possible quality and value for money and, (as above) will have no hesitation returning to them again in the future. 

Peter Duffy

Footnote

We have taken delivery of Mr Duffy's Steinway for a full restoration which includes re-veneering the case in rosewood. Thanks, Peter.

I am the second owner of a Pleyel Piano Upright Grand made in 1887 and my
m/grandmother knew the first owner through connexions in the bakery trade; both
families were Master Bakers.
The Pleyel has a rosewood case and the same design is still in the Pleyel catalogue.
As an antique it was worth around £7,000 but its best days of playing were over and
the
original slide action needed constant attention. However I knew that Chopin
always carried spare actions with him on tour and spare strings so I contacted Roger
at Tittering Peck Ltd., ( they are well known in the trade ) told him I was a
retired professional pianist and asked what they could do to help me bring back to
life this instrument from the past.
It was away for nearly six weeks and when it was returned just before Christmas it
looked just the same from the outside but when I started to play it it had the same
colour in the tone that it had in the 1930s when it came into my possession but it
was more sensitive in the variation from soft to loud because the action was the
newer type which shortened the stroke length of the hammers rather than slide the
action for the hammers to hit two instead of three strings.
It is, as a result, a far superior piano and a very fine musical instrument, rather
than a museum piece. I was advised to retain the old action which has on it all the
tuning dates back to 1895 and it was neatly rapped and returned to me.
Martin has just left after bringing it up to concert pitch and will be calling again
in about six weeks to see how it is holding pitch.
Oh, and they whitened the ivories too!
If anyone in the area wishes to examine it,
they may, by making arrangements with Roger.
Gerald Morris.