Steinway & Sons

The tour of the factory was very interesting. I play piano and I’ve always heard that the best pianos in the world are Steinways. So to one day move to a street named «Steinway Street» I figured the factory was somewhere in queens but when I found out it was literally 4 blocks down the street from me, I couldn’t believe it. So I signed up for a tour. The tour itself was really fascinating. About 2 hours long. The place is huge. And it was interesting to see how 20,000 different «Piano shaped objects» come together to form a Steinway piano. Not sure if I’d ever fork over 50k for a friggin’ piano, but still it was pretty cool to see how every nuance of it all came together. The tour guide Bob was very knowledgable.

YOU NEED TO DO THIS TOUR! If you’re in New York for a visit or call New York your home, you need to go to Steinway & Sons and do the tour.
I cannot recommend the free tour enough. The only thing is you have to sign up early.
When it’s all said, on the tour you’ll learn some history about New York, Astoria, pianos and how Steinway & Sons is as New York as Tiffany & Co. Our guide was a retired senior engineer and very knowledge about the complete process. You will see the process from pieces of wood to a concert grand piano. Their dedication to the craft is extraordinary and of legends.
While you’re waiting for Steinway & Sons to email you about the next tour, watch «Note by Note» to get a glimpse behind this institution founded in 1853.

If you’re in New York, I highly recommend going to Steinway factory and taking a tour. They only offer tours on Tuesday, but it’s free. It’s a pretty extensive tour and is truly amazing to see all the processes that go into making some of the world’s best piano.
What I love especially about Steinway is that the people have been working there forever. It’s like a Steinway family, where everybody knows each other and treats each other as such. There’s one man, Wally, who is coming up on his 51^st anniversary at Steinway.
They also take you through the very start to finish on the piano making process. We’re talking from wood logs to the selection room. You can get pretty close to most of it, but they do require you to wear closed toe shoes and glasses. They limit the pictures you can take as well.
What I love most about Steinway is that they helped my now fiancée plan a whole engagement there! They were so sweet and excited for us, which made this tour all the better.

One of the best factory tour you’ll ever go on. The people there are fantastic! Warm, welcoming, nothing more that you could ask from them.
Watch the documentary Note by Note, then come here for the real deal.
Oh, and it’s FREE! Just make sure to call ahead since they tend to only do tours on Tuesdays.