[pianotech] Steinway M ballpark value

Daniel Carlton carltonpiano at sbcglobal.net
Wed Oct 27 20:43:43 MDT 2010


hi everyone

i'm looking for some ballpark values for a Steinway that belongs to a 
customer. pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55264825@N08/
(there are six pages of pictures)

i'm thinking of purchasing it for rebuilding (my first). i'd most likely 
replace soundboard/bridges/pinblock, action parts, and damper underlever 
system. keep the keys and keytops but rebush and redo the balance holes. 
refelt the lyre and trapwork.

...this is what i'm thinking, but i took notes on everything anyway, so:

_*Case:*_ the owners put new veneer in a couple of spots, then 
refinished with Valspar. she didn't say which product, just Valspar. the 
finish looks very nice overall, just one minor pea-sized spot of veneer 
that needs to be replaced and a handful of minor dings and a couple 
scratches.

*/one thought:/* the finish doesn't seem to me to be as strong or 
resistant to dings and dents as on some other pianos i've seen. has 
anyone else noticed this with Valspar? would it be better off with 
another type of finish?

_*Hardware:*_ looks pretty friggin good to me. the owner did all the 
buffing and polishing himself when he and his wife refinished the piano.

_*Soundboard/Bridges:*_ they look good. bridges have just a few very 
short hairline cracks at the pins, extending out from the pin toward the 
end of the notches, but that's it.
no cracks in the SB. no separated ribs. crown is anywhere from .5 to 2 
mm, measured in several spots.
don't have a downbearing gauge yet, so i didn't get that.

_*Action stack/keys:*_ has had Verdigris in the past, in the hammers. 
pretty light wear on everything, as you can see in the pics. some minor 
backchucking on a few keys. ivories look great, nice and thick, a little 
yellow and tiny hairline cracks at the end of a few of the heads.

_*Pinblock/Tuning pins:*_ PB seems very good. TPs are all nice and 
comfortably tight, right in the sweet spot. they are 3/0.

i wonder if this piano was partly rebuilt or refurbished at some point, 
because the 3/O tuning pins, and the overall great condition of the piano.

None of the owner's kids want the piano and neither do any of her 
nieces. she seems very ready to sell it to me for the right price. i 
have a range in my head, based on a minimum Terry Farrell told me 
Steinway grands might go for...

Daniel



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