[pianotech] upright price

[William Monroe]

Come ON, Joe.

You're not arguing the points David made.  There was never a suggestion
that a well built old upright is no good musically.  The (almost entire)
point is that the Fair Market Value of a rebuilt old upright is less than
the cost to rebuild the thing.  That doesn't mean someone won't pay it.
Obviously some have.  We (almost universally) *accept* that a well-done
rebuild of an old upright produces a very fine instrument.  What's the
beef?  The point is that the market value, in general, is not there.  So
someone has to want that particular old upright restored, and they have to
be able to accept that if it were rebuilt well, and they decided to sell
some day, they most likely won't be able to sell it for anywhere near what
they had to spend to get it rebuilt.

It doesn't mean (nor was it EVER suggested) that it's a waste of time,
should you have a paying customer.  Some folks on this list like to think
that because others of us recognize the investment folly of rebuilding old
uprights, that we disparage the instruments.  So untrue.  I love them, but
once most clients realize what it would cost to rebuild their beloved
treasure, they suddenly don't see it as such a treasure.  This holds true,
even when they are educated as to the incredible potential some of these
old beauties have.

William R. Monroe



On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 1:47 AM, Joseph Garrett <joegarrett at earthlink.net>wrote:

> David Love said: "As far as the economics of rebuilding old uprights,
> rarely does it make sense unless you?re a hobbyist working for fun or
> unless the customer has some sentimental attachment that extends beyond the
> cost/value relationship, which does happen and can be justified. The time
> involved and the cost of materials is not significantly different from what
> it takes to do a quality grand piano maybe with exception of the finish.
> The value when you?re done, however, is a fraction. Where do you want to
> spend your time? I know where I want to spend mine. While it may be sad to
> relegate many of these once interesting instruments to the scrap heap, the
> value that justifies the time and cost generally just isn?t there. As
> technicians we would be remiss in our responsibility to advise customers
> otherwise."
>
>
> David,
> I completely disagree. If a Remanufactured/Rebuilt Olde Upright job is done
> correctly, the aesthetics and musical quality is far superior to any of the
> black plastic crap that is being manufactured today...HANDS DOWN! There is
> a lot of people that would never have a grand or a black polyester piece of
> modern crap in their home. That's the reality of it. I'll compare my
> rebuilds to just about anything you can throw out there. The only down side
> to Uprights is the fact that they can never play as fast as a grand.
> (Unless, of course, if you install a Fandrich Action!<G> (which is entirely
> possible and doable) That's my take on it and my many endeavors are my
> proof.
> Best Regards,
> Joe
>
> Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
> Captain of the Tool Police
> Squares R I
>
>
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