---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment (thanks to Yahoo Mail not letting me use the back button and retrieve what I typed earlier (when I tried to send but it said my session timed out), this may not quite be the same as my first attempt to write this...) I've been wondering about this for the last several days and I finally decided to ask about it on the list... What were some older brands & models of uprights that you guys have liked that had the following features: at least 54" tall #1 string length > 54" 26- or fewer note bass no wound strings on treble/tenor bridge (unless trichord and/or not extending past C3) built in the 1920s or earlier elaborate cases (I attached a few pics (and included a few notes on the pictures) at least 88 keys What were some of the tallest pianos you guys know of with elaborate cases? Here's a list of brands (taken from Larry Fine's piano book), and if there are any good uprights, that, provided the pinblock, soundboard, and plate are in good condition and the bridge needs minimal repair could be good restoration projects, please let me know. Steinway Knabe Bösendorfer Ivers & Pond Steinert Emerson Apollo Weber Krakauer Everett Ibach Baldwin Chickering Blüthner Henry F. Miller Jewett Vose A.B. Chase Wing Hallet & Davis Hamilton Heintzman Mason & Hamlin Bechstein Sohmer McPhail Hume Chas. Stieff Packard Haines Bros. Lester Kimball I am especially interested in Steinway, Knabe, Emerson, Weber, Baldwin, Chickering, Vose, Wing, Hallet & Davis, Hamilton, Mason & Hamlin, and Lester uprights. Also, if you have any easy way of getting recordings (preferably mp3 format) of some old uprights you know of (doesn't matter what condition the piano is in but please let me know approximately if you know), please let me know -- I'd like to have a way to compare the sounds of old upright pianos. I don't have money to buy an old upright that I like right now, but I would like to learn what's out there so that when the time comes it will be easier for me to make a decision. As far as tone I like, I like the bass of a Steinway D (or as close as you can get on an upright), the upper bass (note C2 to upper end of bass bridge, maybe A#2) of a good 6- or 7-foot grand or large upright (maybe Steinway K-52 or G) with wound strings up to A#2, the low tenor of an older upright (maybe Steinway K or Hallet & Davis), the temperament of a Baldwin Hamilton (and past it, up to the treble plate strut), and the mellow treble of pianos used in popular 50s and 60s triplet ballads. I would link to a note-by-note recording of the tone I like (sampled from various pianos and recordings), but I don't have it finished yet. (I included a few pictures of pianos with cases I think are neat. I like the top front of the Matushek, the sides of the Wing & Son and the Matushek, the lower front panel of the Wing, and the legs of the Hallet & Davis and the Wing & Son) If you want to see better quality pictures, please go to http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/stephen_airy/lst?.dir=/pianostuff/miscpics&.order=&.view=l&.src=bc&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/stephen_airy/lst%3f.dir=/pianostuff%26.src=bc%26.view=l and look at the pictures in there. I may also include a few extra pictures there. --------------------------------- On a side note, I often find myself laughing at some ads on E-bay (some people sure need an education!!) Here's an example: 1878 Steinway paino upright model. This gorgeous unit has been well kept in my office lobby for many years. It has been play one or two times a year during the holiday season...amazing that the sound is still wonderful! The exterior is a mahagony wood or like wood from that period in a Rosewood style pattern. The interior looks just like the day it was made some 123 years ago. Item is in original condition. There has been no refurbishing, replacement of parts or touch ups in any description. On the interior there is wording in raised gold lettering as follows: Registered Oct 31 1876 July 9 1878 Steinway & Sons New York US PAT May 14 & 28 1872 Aug 1 1876 May 21 1878 Dec 30 1879 Apr 13 1880 D.R. PAT. 17 July 1878 In pencil cursive writing the following on interior panel: JB Simmons June 26 /26 Aug 8 / 30 I assume August 8 1930 is the last date this item was tuned. Built in 1878? What are these later PATENT dates I see? I would think (based on the looks of the piano) that it was built between 1915 and 1925. Also, about him assuming August 8,1930 was the last date it was tuned? I wouldn't be surprised if it was tuned much more recently than that. A few months ago I tuned a friend's Wurlitzer spinet that had a piano tuner's business card with a date from 1957 (or maybe in the 1960s). The piano was only about 10 or 15 cents flat, so it must have been tuned since then. (I have yet to hear of any piano (let alone a Wurlitzer spinet) which holds its tune so well that it only drops 10 cents in 40 years or more...) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: DCP_0304-Matushek.jpg Type: image/pjpeg Size: 14079 bytes Desc: DCP_0304-Matushek.jpg Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/7f/cc/b3/cc/DCP_0304-Matushek.jpg ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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