Hi all!

So today I had the pleasure of seeing and trying out a 1919 Bluthner upright. After seeing three pianos from three different private vendors today, the sound I was most enamored by was definitely the Bluthner. It's touch was wonderful and the sound, despite being a little out of tune, was excellent, truly excellent.

That being said, there were a few issues:
1) The piano has not had one single restoration of any sort since it's original purchase. I feel like I should worry about the cost of a probably much needed replacement or restoration of several parts.
2) When you release the keys, the sound on some keys, mostly the lower bass notes, continues a little bit.
3) Though mostly well maintained on the exterior, the owners are also proud cat lovers who seemed to have let their cats reign over the house and the piano, so scratch marks are definitely visible over the instrument.

The asking price is about USD$5,700. I have no intention of paying that much for the instrument, and I'll definitely have a tech check it out before I make any further decisions. Regardless, I wanted to get the opinions of folks here online regarding whether they think this instrument is a good purchase and worthy of investment/restoration work.

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-...o-de-origen-_JM

Thanks a ton!

Hello ILArguelles.
Do you know if the piano is an over-damper or under-damper model?

The early Blüthner upright pianos had over-damper actions. Your comment on the inefficient damping of some lower bass notes suggests that this could apply to the piano you tried.

A completely unrestored piano made nearly 100 years ago will certainly have major problems, irrespective of its apparent condition.

The cost of a full restoration of this piano could exceed its value.

The asking price seems preposterous. I think that you should steer clear of it and look at more modern pianos.


Good luck!
Robert.

USD$5,700??

Wow, I see lots of pianos this age and condition advertized for $0.

Thanks a ton Mr. Magic and Robert. Frankly I had suspected the same and was thinking perhaps that I could get the piano for $1000 or so and restore it and was wondering whether it'd be worth it, and you guys have more or less answered my question. Also I find it very unlikely that the sellers would go for anything much less than $4000, which is indeed preposterous, however they seem rather clueless when it comes to pianos and are basing their current price on what a pawn shop dealer told them.

I may still have a technician check it out and give me an estimate on restoration costs and the value of the piano...I really loved the sound and touch of the instrument...it was better than a grand I player earlier in the day. However I'll definitely keep looking for other instruments. Thanks!

I think a lot of sellers believe their 100 year old piano is worth a small fortune. I've seen these on eBay and Craigslist advertized for astronomical amounts... they never sell, and the seller keeps coming down on the pirce. I've seen them start at $K's and go all the way down to "free... just come and move it out of my house".

Of course, sometimes we may come across a diamond in the rough...

Rick

The asking price is way too high. Some people love these old pianos, and they do have a certain lure, and a sweet tone. They are a pain in the arse when it comes to maintenance and they are all pretty tired out now.

It will most certainly need restrung, soundboard work, action rebuild etc to bring it up to its full potential. One thing about Bluthners though, if you want to go for a conservation style rebuild rather than a full rebuild, the soundboards are generally quite good, and the planks seem to be unbreakable. That said, there are exceptions to every rule. It might be a good buy for, say $1000 (in the UK the unrestored models don't fetch more than a few hundred pounds) but for $5700 you are paying for the name.

Hi joe80!

Thanks for the tip. Considering my budget at the moment, I'd prefer to spend less on a restoration if I can get away with it. That being said I still need to have the piano checked out by a technician, and then see if the owners would even be willing to back down from their extraordinary price.

Given that I could get the piano for very cheap AND that the costs of a "conservation style" restoration were not to be as well, I may be very convinced to get the Bluthner.

Either way I continue on the hunt.

Thanks a ton!