I was wondering if anyone knows anything about Lowry pianos????

I know that mine was built in 1978?
Its serial number is 544099

I was just curiouse to know more info about my wonderfull instrument in my living room.

THank you, AspenX

Built by Story and Clark. The year is spot on! I'm glad you are enjoying it. This was not a top tier piano, but that goes to show you how much enjoyment the hobbiest can get from these pianos. not everybody needs a Bluthner! play that thing 'till the keys fall off and enjoy!

All the best to you!

Thank you PianoPro,

I got it from a friend. And I just started playing and taking lessons last month so I am a very beginner. And my little girl loves to pretend like she is playing ( not old enough for lessons yet!!). So having a fancy expensive piano in my house is not a good idea yet. But for a starter piano, it serves us fine. Im lovin' every bit of it. And my piano tuner said it was in Great shape. Thank you getting back to me so quickly. And down the road when I am looking to move up into a grander piano I know where to turn to for advice. This forum is wonderfull. Thanks!!!! and may you have a wonderfull weekend
AspenX

Lowrey Organ company did not what their organ dealers to do business with piano suppliers (Kimball, Wurlitzer, Baldwin) that might also make organs in that era. Lowrey commissioned a ling of stencil pianos to be sold by their organ dealer network.

Is it a bottom of the line piano???? It sounds o.k to me. Me being a beginner and all. So let me see if I have this right. Its from the Lowry Company that does organs, but made by Story & Clark. Hummm so strange!!! inside of my piano it says " An original Norman L Meyers design", And then it says Charles Fredrick Stein then it says Lowry. Does that help anyone?????

Thanks for all your help. I find this interesting.

AspenX,

By the way PianoPro, you bet ill play this thing till its keys come off!!!!! I dont think my husband will let me buy another till its in pieces on my floor and my piano tunor runs the other way!!!!

I think you'll find it says "Lowrey" not Lowry.

Sorry about that typo !!!
The name does not flow off of the tongue very well either!!!! Maybe thats why I misspelled it.

They were upgrade Story & Clarks. The cabinets were superior and designed by, you guessed it Norman L Meyers. They intentionally used solid core stock cabinet panels (rather than particle, which was the trend at the time).Asian imports were destroying the domestics at the time so for the remaining years, S&C attempted to set themselves apart with traditional American style cabinetry, with many models.
Pratt, Reed actions in most though it became blurry later. Not a bad action to service and certainly longstanding. You'll never replace elbows and flanges.

Of course, I was never a fan of Lowrey organs so I wasn't surprised about the S & C connection with their pianos. Hammond also had a line of pianos, too. Right? Who made those? Weren't they mostly spinets? I always liked the Hammond organs better than Lowrey any day.

If my memory serves me correctly, the Hammond pianos were also made by S&C.

For a piano that I paid nothing for. It is serving me well. And thank you all for your info about it.
Me being a beginner beginner this is a perfect way for me to start.
Im glad I have some knowledge about what is sitting in my living room now.
Thank You All, and Happy piano playing.
AspenX

First time posting. . . we're looking at a Lowrey console piano. The listing price was $5000, but the owner is offering $3500. From what I have been reading, this price seems high. Beautiful sounding piano, however and in great shape.

Handmade in 1980, cherry satin 42"designer console. Does anyone have thoughts? The owner of the shop won't budge past $3500.

Thanks.

Please read back through this thread. Built by Story & Clark as a stencil for Lowery Organ dealers to have a piano to sell. Retail value today in my market would be about $850. This was a mass produced instrument and middle low to low end at that.

Hello, Aavart, and welcome to the forum.

$3500 is way too high for the Lowrey.

Lowrey pianos were made for Lowrey Organ Co. by Story and Clark. They were so-so pianos in their day. According to Larry Fine's pianobuyer.com website, a new Story and Clark H6 44" console retails for $4695. The selling price will be much less. (I compared to the S & C only because they made the Lowrey. That's not necessarily what I'd buy.)

Check out pianobuyer.com. There's a link on the right side of this page. Read the section about buying used pianos and pricing of used pianos. Use the search function at the top of the page and look up Lowrey. You'll get more info about them. You might get Marty Flinn's "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Buying A Piano." Marty posts here and is very helpful to new buyers.

I'd recommend you shop all the stores in your area. Read Craigslist.com. Play lots of pianos and get a good feel on what makes you happy. Hang around PW and read the threads about shopping for pianos. When you find something you like, ask. Oh, and I'd start my own thread, rather than resurrecting somebody else's.

Anyway, good luck on your search. There are lots of nice pianos in your price range. Yours will show up. Enjoy the ride.

Charles

PS: See what I mean about Marty. Marty posted while I was composing. CT

Thanks for the prompt response. What would be a reasonable range for this refurbished piano?

Refurbished??? What does that mean?

$300-$700 depending on overall condition.

FYI... Hammond bought Everett in the mid 60's to market a Hammond piano and a low priced organ using the Everett name. There were 2 organs, a chord organ and a short keyboard spinet. If my memory is correct a mod. 2000 and 3000. They had a spinet piano same as the Cable Nelson and a console same as an Everett. Lowrey followed with the S&C connection since both were owned by Norlin Corp. at the time.
An early attempt to keep dealers "In the family"

Aavart,

"Refurbishing" can mean most anything from a cleaning to a replacing/repairing strings, hammers, action, most anything. Quality grands get rebuilt; uprights rarely do, not even top brands. There's no return for the money spent. You'll put in thousands and get hundreds back.

Lowrey pianos had nice cabinets, but the interior was nothing special. If this one is exceptionally clean, it might command a couple of hundred dollars premium, but asking more than $1000 - $1200 is totally out of line. The seller is either trying to take advantage of your lack of knowledge or doesn't know the market. Two of our members recently bought a Baldwin Hamilton for $699 and a Charles R. Walter upright for <$1K. Those are much better pianos than the Lowery.

I still recommend you visit lots of piano stores and play lots of pianos. Look them up on pianobuyer.com. Talk with the folks here about them. We have lots of opinions. Sometimes, we even agree . Check Craigslist. If you'll tell us where you are (state of city is fine), we'll try to point you to good businesses.

A $3500 budget opens up lots of options, used and new. Good luck!

Charles

Wow, Charles thank you, and everyone, for all your insight. We really appreciate it. We are excited to get our children a piano and want to make a good decision.

We are located in Northern Virgina. I'm told that Rick Jones(?)in Maryland has a good selection. I'll keep you posted!

Several folks here have shopped Rick Jones and the reports have been very complimentary. I haven't been there, so I can't say much. I am concerned about the age of a lot of his pianos. Ideally, if you're buying used, it'd be really desirable to stay under 10 or 15 years of age, which you should be able to do, given your budget.

I looked through his website a few minutes ago. There's a 2001 Kawai K-25 listed for $3895 and a '97 Yamaha U100 for $4898. Something like those would be worth looking at. Rick Rones is also a Schimmel dealer. Ask to see a May Berlin upright (model M121). May Berlin is Schimmel's value line. I saw one of those when I was shopping for my Kawai. I thought it was a really nice piano in the price range. The price on RJ's website is a bit high, but I'm sure they deal.

Anyway, if you haven't looked through pianobuyer.com, please do. Pay special attention to the section on buying used pianos (page 47) and Mr. Fine's depreciation chart and the models and pricing guide beginning on page 188.

And good luck!

Charles



Okay, people, Who wants to recommend good businesses in the Northern Virginia/DC ares for Aavart? CT

Hi Charles, just looked on Craigslist and there is a Young Chang piano upright piano for $1700. The seller purchased it in 1992 (need to confirm she bought it new.)

I'll ask RJ to show us a May Berlin.

Again, thanks for your help.