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I am interested in a S&S model O Hamburg from 1916. It is a beautiful piece which according to the dealer has been played very little, and therefore (he says) is in good condition and no need of renovation. Strings, nails, hammers, board, keys are all original.

I haven't looked at it yet (it is out of my town) and when I do I hope to bring an independent technician to check it. My question is, how much does the fact that it has not been played affect the ageing? I can imagine it spares the strings, but doesn't the soundboard age whether you play on it or not? In your opinion, what are the chances of finding a 1916 Steinway that does not need restringing?

Asking price is about 27K USD

I regularly play at my piano teacher's house on a Hamburg Steinway O that is roughly the same vintage as the one you are looking at. I absolutely love it. As a piano teacher's piano, it is played a lot, and she of course plays on it all the time, so it is a bit fatigued, but still noble. It does need work.

I cannot comment on the likelihood of finding a 1916 Steinway O (or, indeed, any piano) that has never been restored and needs no work now, although I have to say I think it very unlikely. And $27K sounds very high, at least to my inexpert ears. What I really wanted to say is that troglodyte was one of my father's favorite words.

Good luck in your search!

0%. A piano of this vintage in original condition requires a complete restoration.



Outrageous. 5-10k, unless it's a fancy case.

My own piano is a 1917 O with the original soundboard, original treble strings, and tuning pins. The pin block holds perfectly.

I replaced the damper felts, action, hammers, and bass strings.

100% restoration is not necessary and until the 94 year-old treble strings start breaking, they will remain on the piano.

You definitely should have the piano inspected by an objective third party (technician) before acquiring a piano that old to see exactly what is needed. You might get lucky.

Glen

The reason you do not feel that the treble strings need replacing is that you have not heard the difference between old strings and new ones. I can assure you that they do not sound like new ones.

I am well aware they do not sound like new ones.

Here are a few short clips of the piano - the old strings really do have their own appeal for now. Excuse the music...

http://www.box.net/shared/6m6vf9sxlvg7z5qzc1lv
http://www.box.net/shared/vuo4t2b1gmtonvxf04pe
http://www.box.net/shared/dggloqq5zrsc7ztohgjg

So why replace the bass strings?

The original bass strings were way too tubby, no longer musical - the old Steinway lost its bass growl, and they did not resonate (overtones were gone), but no longer. I used GC bass strings - they are now two years old and just starting to come into their own, very nice. You can hear them in the clip (close mic) - little earbuds to listen seem to work best.

So you do not like the way that the bass sounded, but the thin, reedy sound of old treble strings is okay? With all the other work done on the piano, the treble strings might add 10% to the cost, and without replacing them, all the other work adds nothing to the value of the piano.

I don't find the treble to be that thin to the point it is distracting and I am not interested in hijacking the OP's thread to discuss my piano. No doubt at some point I'll replace the treble strings, but not now.

I provided an example where old piano does not necessarily require complete restoration, just for the sake of it - it can be a matter of degree and I decided to leave the piano as close to its original condition as when my Dad acquired it in 1950. Yes, I am a bit sentimental about it.

You are giving irresponsible musical and fiscal advice.

My own antecdotal example is neither.

I suggested to the OP to have an objective third party give the advice - certainly nothing irresponsible about that.

Generally, I think I'd agree with you that this is not a best-practice, and wouldn't recommend it for a customer. I've heard of people just replacing bass strings, just not on such an old piano. But, if Inlanding did the work himself, then perhaps it was an ok decision. The piano, after all, sounds quite nice.

New steel wire makes a major difference over old century old wire though most have the impression that restringing a piano in it's entirety is only warranted if the strings are rusted or the pins are loose. So...in reality,if one doesn't restring the entire piano than one will never ever know. Same scenario with changing the soundboard or not.Nobody will ever do the top end of a piano keeping the original soundboard than tear it down and do it over with a new soundboard.... except me!

Thanks all. My conclusion is that great care should be taken before a purchase. I have spoken at length with the technician who last tuned the piano, and enlisted another tech I know and trust to have a look at it next week, so I'll have two professional opinions.

Piano of that age not needing major work are rare, but they are out there. I have seen dozens. (Of course that is over a 40+ year career.)