A wide variety of features are available in many combinations to create various types of Ravenscroft Pianos. While some features are standard on all our pianos, some components and features may only be found on certain models, that give that model its unique sound. When designing your Ravenscroft Piano, together we can browse through and select the features that match your custom model.

The piano action is of central importance for the way in which the instrument performs. The loveliest sound cannot be achieved if the mechanism is not working with the utmost precision. Our objective is to create a piano action which provides poised response and a seemingly invisible interface for the pianist's expression.

All Model 275 piano actions are individually optimized utilizing a specially designed CAD program. This process determines the location and relationship of the nearly 10,000 action parts including: optimal stack height, capstan location, action spread, parts placement, rotations, clearances, and interactions. Doing so creates the most efficient leverage ratios unique to each piano.

Additionally, we have developed a method to control and smooth the inertia of the action, not just as a whole, but from note to note. Though time intensive, this meticulous attention to detail allows the pianist to focus on expression and tone instead of having to overcome inconsistencies of the action.

Louis Renner began on a very modest level with the production of piano action parts in October of 1882. Hand-crafted production was at the heart of these beginnings. Today Renner is the largest independent action manufacturer in the world.

The company's success is due to their ability to produce custom made actions for the individual customer. Renner is the only supplier on the European continent to have stood up to the stiff selection process of the pianoforte industry.

Renner action parts are manufactured with European Hornbeam Wood which has been found to have significant advantages because of its dense structure and high bending strength. Special attention is paid to proper wood selection, seasoning, and grain direction. This attention to detail eliminates many problems associated with inferior materials.

The Ravenscroft hammer is crafted from the finest Weikert or Wurzen felt and does not contain any chemicals, lacquers, or other artificial hardeners or reinforcing agents. It is our experience that the addition of chemicals as reinforcing agents significantly reduces the dynamic range of the piano hammer. The wooden moldings are carefully chosen to achieve the optimum strength to weight ratio.

We have chosen Renner because of their continued commitment to quality, reliability, precision, and durability and their willingness to craft parts and hammers to our individual specifications ensuring that each custom Ravenscroft piano is truly "Ravenscroft".

Ebony wood is known for its soft to the touch feel because of the oils contained in the wood. Overtime the texture of the wood can become soft like silk, but by no means is it fragile. The hard and dense wood is notorious for its ability to dull cutting tools quickly. This ensures a lifetime of playing to the contact point of the wood sharps.

For aesthetic enhancement, we suggest the addition of a complimentary wood for the main body of the sharp with an Ebony capping material. Such woods as Rosewood, Beech, Yew, Alder, Birdseye Maple, Mahogany or Walnut can add a magnificent personalization for your piano.

Numerous other exotic woods, synthetics, inlays and colors are also available to match the specific look of your Ravenscroft Piano.

Ever since the use and sale of ivory has been prohibited, there have been several efforts to create materials which mimic the visual and tactile properties of ivory. Unfortunately, a smooth, yet absorbent man-made material is difficult to achieve.

The German firm Kluge Klaviaturen has successfully developed a material that is not slippery or cold in touch like conventional plastic materials. Tharan® is a polymer bonded material with a high specific gravity. It is lightened by pigment and possesses a rich optical finish that results in a matte finish. It is neutral to foodstains, easy to clean and resists most chemicals.

The material feels cool to the touch because it is two-thirds mineral components and one-third high quality polyester resin. The surface of Tharan is given a highly technical matte finish which results in a wonderful silky touch. Because of its soft-as-silk touch, we find it to be a perfect match to our ebony sharps, leaving no distractions to feel and freeing the performer to their music.

Ravenscroft soundboard panels originate in Italy at the E. Ciresa srl company. The firm acquires the finest grade AAA Spruce from the government regulated Val di Fiemme Forest in Northern Italy and manufacturers the soundboard panel to our specification. Often called the "Trees of Music", this wood was personally chosen by Mr. A. Stradivari to sculpt his famous violins. It is believed that the altitude, soil, and climatic conditions of the forest contribute to the growth of the absolute best Spruce trees available for the production of musical instruments.

The panels are received at our Scottsdale facility from Italy where we carefully dry, hand fit, thin, and crown the panels with our unique rib scale. It is our experience that the Fiemme Spruce panels significantly contribute to the warm rich tonality of the Ravenscroft Piano.

The cast iron plate must withstand over 20 tons of string tension without any hint of distortion. Only the highest grade grey iron combined with constructive acuteness of the best workmanship can accomplish this. Sand cast plates are the least prone to vibrating, thereby preventing unwelcome interference and sympathetic frequencies.

Plates that are poured under vacuum, a technique used for the production of many other instruments, are over-dense and tend to turn oscillation energies into undesired natural vibrations.

Our Hydraulic Damper Assisted Fallboard closing system protects hands, fingers and the pianos finish from the harm that a jarring closure may cause. The system incorporates a hydraulic damping tube which regulates the speed at which the fallboard can travel when closed This allows a smooth even travel of the fallboard and prevents it from slamming down. Our system is securely attached to the inner case of the piano to prevent possible damage to the fallboard and to provide a lifetime of reliability.

The Ravenscroft music desk utilizes a patented adjustment system that allows the pianist to easily perform position changes with one hand. There are four locking positions which allow the desk to be positioned for various applications and each position is easily obtained with one simple forward movement. The music desk supports feature all metal construction and the locking adjustment system is beautifully inlaid into the desk for a sleek contemporary appearance.

Titanium string terminations help to create a clean pure sound and help to eliminate a common condition in piano strings called false beats. Sometimes referred to as the “space age metal”, titanium is a strong metal with low density that is quite ductile, corrosion resistant and when polished to a lustrous finish, it exhibits a very low drag coefficient. These attributes make titanium an excellent option for the bridge pins and duplex scale string terminations. When matched with polished stainless hardware, the titanium not only improves the sound but also augments the elegant refined appearance of your Ravenscroft piano.