Playing Musical Chairs with Pianos

[Lorlin D. Barber]

Hi Gordon,

What are the specifics on the S&S D and the Baldwin SD (i.e. to your knowledge
what work needs to be done).  Are there tuning stability problems? Has the
Baldwin been restrung?  Action , soundboard, bridges, case condition, etc.

What kind of $60K piano does  the alumni  wants  to donate, a Stnwy B or a D?
Does he need to do this before April 14th for tax purposes?

I am the technician for Iowa State Music Dept. and I also broker  pianos.
There may be a possibility to work out a rebuild  in exchange for one of them
depending on what needs to be done.

Best Regards,

Lorlin Barber, RPT

PNOTNR@aol.com wrote:

> The school where I work recently learned that an alumnus is interested in
> making a donation to the school of music of a new concert grand piano.
> (Apparently he needs the tax deduction....nice problem to have!)  When told
> that the price tag would be around 60K, it did not seem to be a problem
>
> The only stipulation is that he wants the school to also put something
> towards this.  The chair of the music dept. tells me that there is no money
> budgeted for this, and that the only way the department could come up with
> cash would be to sell one of the two concert grands they now have.
>
> Currently we have a Baldwin Grand, model D from 1963, and a Steinway Model D
> from 1981.  Both instruments need work.
>
> My feeling is that right now we have two mediocre grands and if we sell one,
> we'll end up with one nice new grand, and one mediocre grand.........for
> $60,000.
>
> I said that for the same money, we could completely rebuild both existing
> instruments and have money left over to buy another smaller grand.  But the
> music dept. chair has asked that I provide figures on...
>
> Selling price for a 1981 Steinway & Sons Grand, Model D  (not teflon action)
> Selling price for a 1963 Baldwin Grand, Model D
>
> I'd also welcome opinions from you CAUT folks about what might be the best
> way to go from here.  Thanks for any assistence.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Gordon Large, RPT
> Colby College
> Waterville, Maine