I'm Howard Gustafson, a second generation piano technician and owner of Ragland Piano Company in Texarkana, TX. I've been in the piano business full time since 1985 and worked several years part time in my Dad's shop before that. Sometime in the early 1990's I repurposed a grand piano for the first of what would be many, many times - basically saving an old, financially unrestorable piano from disposal. Then, around 1997 I repurposed an old square grand into a digital piano.... a variation on repurposing that preserves the original intent of the instrument. Since that time I've repurposed and converted many, many old pianos and the business has shifted (as digital technology has progressed) to the point that I decided to make converting old, "unrestorable" pianos into digital pianos a core focus of Ragland Piano Company. Keep reading after the video if you want to know more....
Here you will see a list of our current inventory and what we have planned for each piece. This is flexible so if you're interested in a different action, different control, etc. feel free to contact me. Prices will typically range from around $4,000 to $10,000 though we may occasionally have the exceptional piece that warrants exceeding that range.
Completion time is generally 30-45 days from payment but can be sooner depending on what stage we are at with that particular project.
Delivery: I really like to do the delivery myself when at all reasonably possible. In April 2022 I delivered a custom digital upright to Saint Paul, MN from Texarkana - about 900 miles. A few years before that I delivered one to Pensacola, FL (free) and took a small vacation there. I have many options when it comes to delivery so don't let concerns over delivery prevent you from contacting me for a quote.
Digital pianos got off to a rocky start. Many professionals felt they didn't feel like pianos and didn't sound like pianos... and they were correct. In the intervening decades the digital piano has progressed remarkably, with constant improvements in touch and sound to the point that they now have almost completely displaced so called "starter pianos" in the market for beginning instruments. Many of these starter pianos are over a hundred years old and need significant work to properly function, work that approaches or exceeds $10,000 or more. This is where Ragland Piano Company steps in.....
I start by acquiring pianos that have good cabinets, after all the interior parts do not matter in this case. Once the piano is in the shop the crew here will completely gut it of all original interior parts - strings, tuning pins, action, keys and more. It gets thoroughly cleaned inside and out, the cabinet is touched up/refinished as needed, hardware is polished or plated, casters are replaced and the piano is partially reassembled in preparation for installation of the new components. In most cases (but not all, depending on budget), we install a brand new acoustic piano action and keyset, eliminating one objection many pianists raise - that it doesn't feel like a "real piano". With a genuine piano action complete with hammers and damper levers; genuine full length wood keys mounted on a keyframe with keypins and punchings exactly like an acoustic piano, a sustain pedal mechanism that raises damper levers just like a true acoustic piano there is nothing about the action that feels less than a real piano. And.... with a significantly larger cabinet than found on modern digital pianos we have the ability to choose premium locations for speakers and add additional speakers, giving our custom digitals a sound more like an acoustic piano than anything else on the market... the kind of sound that wraps around you rather than a couple of speakers easily pinpointed by the ears of the listener. I'm not going to say our conversions can best a full concert grand, but they will give any vertical piano and many grand pianos a run for the money.
This isn't a new concept. Shops have been installing new engines and drivetrains in old cars for years. I've simply decided it's time to tool up to offer professional conversions of acoustic pianos and have years of experience with both acoustic and digital pianos to draw on. My goal is to turn out pianos that from outward appearances look completely original yet offer features not found in acoustic pianos.... a variety of sounds, headphone jacks for privacy, line out capabilities for institutions, MIDI connectivity to use the latest software on various tablets/computers and more.
Ragland Piano Company is a custom digital piano shop. Looking for something specific but don't see it? Let me know....
Mechanically inclined? Piano technician yourself? Enjoy suffering through new experiences? I'm open to selling parts and kits, contact me.