[pianotech] 1887 Steinway A with inner/outer rim separation

Ryan Sowers tunerryan at gmail.com
Thu Nov 11 10:42:52 MST 2010


Just to be clear: the rim separation is point 5 or half a mm at its widest
spots. most places its less or a hairline.

Also, how much does the 85 note keyboard affect an appraisal?

Thanks again!

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 9:10 AM, Ryan Sowers <tunerryan at gmail.com> wrote:

> Good morning, oh wise pianotech list...
>
> I am putting together an appraisal for an 85 note1887 Steinway A. It had
> been "rebuilt" probably 50 years ago, judging by the fact that the plastic
> keytops are already starting to craze a little and the finish (a reasonably
> good economy finish) had faded quite a bit in spots, and  the bass strings
> were a little dull sounding.
>
> It had been restrung with the original block, and the tuning pins felt good
> and snug.
>
> Mechanically, it was in surprisingly good shape - it appeared the hammers
> and shanks had been replaced (probably at the time of the other repairs) and
> there was some excessive friction and it was certainly due for a full
> regulation, but the piano was certainly playable and the tuning sounded
> reasonably good despite being at 435. Sustain times in the capo section was
> around 6 seconds.
>
> The biggest concern I had with the piano was that there was a crack running
> along the entire rim of the piano between the inner and outer rim. It was as
> much as .5 mm wide in some places.
>
> My question is how big a concern is this, and how much should it effect the
> appraisal? If I were trying to sell the piano myself, I'd probably just flip
> the piano over and fill it with epoxy - not a big deal. But I'm curious to
> others opinions. It doesn't appear to be effecting the tuning stability of
> the piano.
>
> Its a tricky appraisal - I figure as a core piano its worth around 5K. The
> local dealer is selling "refurbished" instruments like this for 20K or more.
> I'm figuring this one's value is somewhere in the middle around 10K.
>
> Thanks for your ideas!
> --
> Ryan Sowers, RPT
> Puget Sound Chapter
> Olympia, WA
> www.pianova.net
>



-- 
Ryan Sowers, RPT
Puget Sound Chapter
Olympia, WA
www.pianova.net
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