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#2016028 - 01/17/13 10:11 AM
Re: Are pianos decreasing in value? (piano burning)
[Re: Craig Hair]
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Full Member
Registered: 01/04/13
Posts: 53
Loc: Austin, Texas USA
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Decreased in value? Today I couldn't give away a bunch of Steinway uprights. We need to make room in our shop, and as we like our neighboring rebuilders we thought they might want them. They are in rough, original condition, but I was offering them to professional rebuilders. I thought at least one of them would want at least one of them. I'm still a little shocked. I knew the upright market was weak, but when free Steinways don't spark any interest it implys collapse.
Before our economic malaise, we all put out many nice rebuilt uprights. As many as you could, as nicely as you cared to. The market was there for quality at a premium. So I guess we could easily have flooded the local market, and our past work has become our worst competitor. But this never seemed to be the case with Steinways. There was always a demand for those, not always ravenous but never absent.
Its like the entire industry is eroding from the bottom up.
If you were in Austin, I would grab one in a heartbeat for DIY tinkering.
_________________________
Don, playing the blues in Austin, Texas on a 48" family heirloom Steinway upright, 100 year old 54" Weber upright, and unknown make turn of the century 54" upright -- says "Whittier NY" on the plate
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#2016088 - 01/17/13 11:55 AM
Re: Are pianos decreasing in value? (piano burning)
[Re: Blues beater]
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Full Member
Registered: 05/14/07
Posts: 62
Loc: Scotland
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We are all familiar with the "cut-down" mirror uprights which we dread seeing, The equivalent in the UK was the vogue in the 1950s for "modernising" old overdamper pianos. Corners were rounded, inlaid top panels replaced with plain, fancy "trusses" replaced with plain curved legs. And usually nothing was ever done to renovate the action or anything inside. There pianos are now 60 years older, but have casework which fools people into thinking they are 60 and not 130 years old. One customer a few years ago refused to believe me that hers was one of these, insisting that her parents had bought the piano brand new in 1957 (I was brand new that year myself). When I found a 1918 date stamped on the filthy worn-out old action, she was finally convinced. Generally I'd rather encounter a 130 year old birdcage piano that had NOT been "modernised" that one that has. But prefer not to encounter them at all! (This after a week in which I wrestled with several).
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#2016154 - 01/17/13 01:45 PM
Re: Are pianos decreasing in value? (piano burning)
[Re: Brittin]
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3000 Post Club Member
Registered: 06/01/01
Posts: 3632
Loc: Orlando FL
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Suppose a piano dealer and a piano maker put together a program to rid a market of beat up pianos. Get all the techs, movers, and teachers in the market on board.
Trade in an old piano and get $$ incentive towards a new acoustic piano - (not digital)
Or---trade in that digital for a new acoustic.
I do see one problem with that - in my market, sales are 75% digital, 25% acoustic, so stores and customers would probably want to trade in that old upright for........a digital
_________________________
www.APerfectpiano.comPiano Technician serving Orlando and Central Florida 1927 Steinway M, rebuilt/refinished 2005 - Selling 20k
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#2016302 - 01/17/13 07:21 PM
Re: Are pianos decreasing in value? (piano burning)
[Re: Craig Hair]
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Full Member
Registered: 02/26/12
Posts: 211
Loc: Georgia, USA
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When I sold my previous shop/warehouse building I discarded 18 uprights. Among them were four self players with all the mechanism still intact. I was shocked to find no demand at all from rebuilders on the players. One of Georgia's best reproducer/player restorers told me that he is still doing rebuilds for owners of the players, but he had not done one to sell in years.
Changing times.
_________________________
Lavender Piano Services
Established 1977
Tuning, Concert Maintenance,
Rebuilding & Restoration
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#2016877 - 01/18/13 07:32 PM
Re: Are pianos decreasing in value? (piano burning)
[Re: Brittin]
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Full Member
Registered: 02/26/12
Posts: 211
Loc: Georgia, USA
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Consider this old clunker: Wellington upright made in 1911. Major work by me in 1979. Has iron wound bass which we merely rejuvenated back then. Did dampers, keytops & bushings & bed felt Shaped the hammers, bridles, various other stuff. High end refinish job. In the year 2000 did set of hammers and major repinning. Played by active church pianist over these years. Now the bass has gone dead again (which really happened at least ten years ago). It has been at standard pitch the entire time. Even the wood upper bridge assembly is still solid and crack free The family wanted this piano back in 1979. Do you think that, just maybe, it was worth the investment? When I first mentioned the need of new hammers the year was 1993. They finally had them done seven years later. I guess I better mention the need of the new strings right away, huh?! 
_________________________
Lavender Piano Services
Established 1977
Tuning, Concert Maintenance,
Rebuilding & Restoration
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#2017295 - 01/19/13 02:19 PM
Re: Are pianos decreasing in value? (piano burning)
[Re: Brittin]
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3000 Post Club Member
Registered: 03/10/08
Posts: 3700
Loc: Vancouver B. C. Canada
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One of Georgia's best reproducer/player restorers told me that he is still doing rebuilds for owners of the players, but he had not done one to sell in years. Since 1991 I had five player pianos sitting here. No call for them at all for over fifteen years. Then in 2008 I got a call for a photo shoot, so one went out at 100 per day for a month. Shortly thereafter sold one to a hobbyist, and another one went to Vancouver Island. The only constant is we can never predict the marketplace.
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