Steve Jackson has been an expert piano restorer since the mid-60s, but he can’t play the piano. “I am musically inclined, but I don't play,” says Steve with a smile. “A rocket scientist doesn’t need to know how to fly a rocket.”
It was evident early on that Steve, who owns his namesake Steve Jackson Pianos, had more interest in how a piano worked than a desire to tickle the ivories. All of his older sisters had piano lessons, but their enthusiasm petered out and when it was his turn, his parents decided they had had their fill. “I used to take things apart and figure out how they worked and this went for the piano, too,” recalls Steve. “One day I took the family piano to pieces and figured out what every little bit of it was for.” It sounded realms better when he put it back together again so his parents didn’t mind. And today, neither do his clients.
