Any Piano men? 1860's Steinway

[WolfeMacleod]

Man... wish I knew something about pianos.
Spotted this in a thrift store last week. keys were a little floppy under light playing, but man what a beautiful tone when hammered.
I know Steinways are the shiz-nit when it comes to pianos.

if I had $3k to spare, I'd probably buy it for the wood for guitars alone. I'm tempted to call Steinway and inquire, cause I can't tell for sure what kind of wood it is.

Seriously though. WHO DONATES STUFFF LIKE THIS TO THRIFT STORES?!?!?

[slodave]

Any blood stains on it?

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by slodave

Any blood stains on it?

Didn't see any. Why ya ask?

[slodave]

1860's, sitting in the back of a bar... Lots of smoke, whiskey, ladies.... Gun fights... Accidental shooting of the piano player...

[azasadny]

It would take some $ to get it restrung, soundboard checked, etc... Just like an old guitar, there's a lot that can be "wrong", but it's still a Steinway!

[Tishabet]

I just showed this thread to my wife (professional pianist/piano teacher) and she says that the square grands are neat but she wouldn't want one for her only piano. She compares Steinways (and their shiz-nit-ness) to a Rolex... major name brand, extremely good quality and well deserved reputation BUT but not the only game in town to those who are piano geeks.

Also, particularly with older pianos, they are like p-cars... if you're looking at one get a serious PPI and go in with eyes open that you can easily spend well over its value getting it back up to snuff. My wife pointed out the increasing gap in front of the keys toward the middle of the keyboard and says this one looks warped.

Cool piano, though.

[Laneco]

My MIL had a Steinway box grand. We moved it for her three or four times before we flat refused to move it anymore. It was unbelievably heavy.

When it became clear that she would never have a place to put it, she finally sold it. I wish our house had been big enough to hold that. I don't play, but the piano was so beautiful it was a piece of art work all by itself. I would have learned to play just to enjoy it even more.

angela

[ckissick]

I have an 1890 Stienway, regular grand. But it's three keys short of standard, which brings the price down. The one you're looking at has more than an octave fewer keys.

Mine might be worth about $8K. It plays well and sounds great, but it needs new felt on the hammers and a few other things.

My guess is that they're asking a bit much, especially for a thrift store. There's probably room for bargaining. Just a guess, though.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by ckissick

The one you're looking at has more than an octave fewer keys.

Are you sure about that?

[M.D. Holloway]

[QUOTE=ckissick;5762668]... The one you're looking at has more than an octave fewer keys. QUOTE]

Ya, not sure about that - I counted 36 black keys and 52 white keys for a total of 88 keys. I have heard of pianos having as few as 65 keys and extended versions having up to 102 keys but niether is traditional.

That board does look bent but to carve it up to make a guitar? Dude! Thats like chopping a 356 to make a low-rider. Sorry but that just can't be done.

[targa911S]

word