Pneumatic player pianos · Serving the Southeast
Antique Player Piano Repair & Restoration
Ampico, Duo-Art, Welte-Mignon, Aeolian, Gulbransen, Nordiska and nickelodeon instruments. Not sure what you have? Send photos and we will identify it, free.
- Six statesWe travel to you across the Southeast
- Written quoteBefore any work begins
- $8,000–$15,000Typical labor, full restoration
Start Here
What Kind of Player Piano Do You Have?
Most people who call us have inherited an instrument and do not yet know what it is. There is one question that splits the whole field: is there a paper roll behind a panel above the keys? If yes, you have a pneumatic player — it runs on suction, not electricity, and it is almost certainly worth saving.
Standard Player Piano
A paper roll, a vacuum system, and (on many) two foot pedals you pump. The player plays whatever the roll says at whatever volume you pedal. The most common thing we are called out to.
Ampico
American Piano Company's reproducing system. Encodes the original pianist's dynamics, so it recreates a performance rather than just the notes. Found in Chickering, Knabe, Mason & Hamlin and others.
Duo-Art
Aeolian's reproducing system, and the main rival to Ampico. Fitted to Steinway, Weber and Steck instruments among others. Worth identifying before anyone opens it up — these are the valuable ones.
Welte-Mignon
The German original, and the system that started reproducing pianos. Rarer in the States and mechanically distinct from Ampico and Duo-Art, so it needs someone who knows the difference.
Aeolian, Gulbransen & Nordiska
These names are on the fallboard, not the mechanism. Gulbransen built the famous "easy to pedal" players; Aeolian built both pianos and the Duo-Art system. The nameplate and the mechanism are often two different companies.
Nickelodeons & Orchestrions
Same pneumatic principles with added ranks, percussion, and a coin mechanism. More moving parts, same leak-hunting approach.
Have a modern electronic system instead — a screen, an app, or a box under the keybed? That is a different animal: see Disklavier, PianoDisc, QRS or Spirio.
Common Issues
Why Antique Players Stop Playing
Nine times out of ten the piano is fine and the pneumatic system has aged out. All of the below are repairable.
Perished Tubing and Leaking Bellows
The single most common failure. Original rubber tubing and bellows cloth harden, crack, and leak after several decades. A pneumatic system that cannot hold suction cannot play — and every other symptom usually traces back here.
Dead Notes While Others Play
Individual pouches or valves have failed rather than the whole system. The player works, but a handful of notes never sound. Tedious to trace, straightforward to fix.
Roll Will Not Track or Advance
Tracking mechanisms drift out of alignment and take-up spools slip. The roll wanders, tears at the edges, or stops feeding entirely. Usually adjustment rather than replacement.
Pedals Pump but Nothing Happens
You are moving air and it is escaping before it reaches the notes. Points to a major leak in the exhausters, the reservoir, or the main supply — and it is the symptom people most often assume is fatal. It usually is not.
Electric Vacuum Motor Dead or Screaming
On instruments fitted with a suction box, motors seize, bearings dry out, and switches fail. Repairable or replaceable without touching the pneumatics.
It Plays, but the Piano Sounds Awful
The player is doing its job and the piano underneath needs tuning, regulation, or hammer work. Easy to mistake for a player fault — and much cheaper to fix.
The Process
How It Works
No guesswork. Every job starts the same way.
Tell us what you have
Call, or send a photo of the nameplate and the roll mechanism through the form. We will tell you what system it is before anyone comes out.
Assessment and written quote
We assess the instrument, tell you what has failed and whether it needs a repair or a full restoration, and put the price in writing.
You decide
Written quote, no pressure. Nothing is worked on until you approve it. For the work itself, we travel to you across the Southeast.
What We Take On
Repairs and Full Restorations
We get antique players working reliably again — leak tracing, tubing, pouches, valves, tracking, motors, and the acoustic piano underneath. Some instruments need a focused repair and some need a full restoration. We will tell you plainly which one yours is.
Repairs
Tubing, dead notes, tracking and motor work. Contact us and we will talk through the options for your instrument.
Full Restoration
Quoted per instrument after assessment, depending on the system and its condition. Written quote before any work begins.
Where we travel
Six states, and we come to the piano
A player piano is not something you ship. For pneumatic work we travel to the instrument, anywhere in these states.
- Georgia
- Florida
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
FAQ
Antique Player Piano Questions
How do I tell what kind of player piano I have?
What is the difference between a player piano and a reproducing piano?
My player piano does not play. Is it worth fixing?
Do you work on coin-operated nickelodeon pianos?
Can you still get player piano rolls?
How much does antique player piano repair cost?
Get Started
Send a Photo — We’ll Tell You What It Is
The fastest way to find out what you have is to show us. Send a photo of the nameplate and the roll mechanism and we will identify the system, tell you whether it is worth reviving, and quote the next step. No charge for that.
Phone
(470) 758-9572Service Area
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina & Tennessee — we travel to you
What Have You Got?
Send your photos
The nameplate and the roll mechanism are the two that tell us most. Send the message above first, then add your photos here.
Rather use email? Send them to info@pianoplayertech.com.