Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Need recommendations for where to buy a piano?

Go to Cunningham Piano Co. in Philadelphia. They do magnificent Steinway restorations, as I know from personal experience and the experience of my uncle, who is currently enjoying a second career as a concert pianist on the 1901 Steinway grand that Cunningham rebuilt for him. Cunningham always has Steinways that they rebuilt on their sales floor. Give them a call!

Thanks. I actually know a guy from Cunningham. I just got in touch with him.

By the way, what is the minimum room size for a Steinway B? I love the depth of the instrument, but I'm worried that even if with voicing, it would still overpower the room? Thanks again.

The conventional wisdom is that the total length of the walls should be 10 times the length of the piano. It isn't a bad "rule of thumb" but it clearly doesn't always work as there are so many variables in acoustics. Plenty of practice rooms are just about big enough to take the piano and pianist and not much else! The 10:1 ratio gives a sensible balance, though, for aesthetics and general use.As the forum is inhabited by piano lovers I suspect plenty of the people here have pianos that exceed that ratio by a margin!

The biggest room in my house is 60 square metres. There isn't a piano in that room but there is a section of it that would take a 9' beautifully- I mean it could have been made for one. For some strange reason I have left that particular bay completely empty. One never knows what might turn up unexpectedly.

The minimum size is the smallest room that allows the piano to be set up and the pianist to sit at it. Probably just under 10 by 8 feet.

I'm going to use my living room for the piano which is about 230 square feet, but the adjacent room is 200 square feet which is basically in the same room. So that should be enough right?

I agree with BDB. Unless the size of the room makes the piano sound awful, which is VERY unlikely to happen if it's a great piano, any room into which the piano physically fits is appropriate!

Ditto.

We sold a number of 7'4 grands into apartments.
Plus one 9' in a normal size living room.

Norbert

I'm not worried about it sounding bad; I'm worried about sounding too loud. Well, not so much for me, because you know when you play, you don't feel as loud. However, when you have people sitting in the same room, would they feel too loud?

Acoustic pianos are generally loud. While a Steinway B has a bit more power than a smaller Steinway, the smaller Steinways are about as loud in general in practice. The larger piano should sound better at the same volume and if it is set up right, it can control sound at a softer volume better.

So I have been really busy searching for that perfect Steinway B. I think I have found one? But I'd like to hear from the forum to see if this is a good opportunity.

I found a manufacured in 2003 Steinway B which is in great condition after playing it and seeing it. It was purchased new from Steinway in 2006 by one owner. Now is listed for $54000. Is that a good price for a piano that has been very lightly used and in mint condition? The store is selling me for $50k. Should I bargain even more? Thanks in advance for your input.

Nope, you are done with negotiating... always take the first offer.

Why is that?

Major tip: Read the Ivory threads on this forum. NJ just enacted some draconian new ivory restrictions. On any piano older than 1990, you have to check for ivory.

swpiano

I was just kidding. This is a buyers market and there are many pianos to be sold -- it may take a seller of a quality instrument a year or more to find a buyer. You can always negoiate!

A common theme on this forum is to pay a certified piano technician to check out the piano before the purchase is made. You may consider paying a technician a fee to help you with the search process. I'm sure they could provide you with the guidance you need to purchase a top-tier instrument.

I always bring my technician. But I was just wondering what is the market going price for a mint condition 2003 model B?

swpiano, I PM'd you.

Hi Bob, I'm thinking of visiting Lindeblad. Are you from the area? Have you purchased a piano from Lindeblad or know anyone who has? I'm a bit leery of having a piano rebuilt that I didn't play first.