Steinway L Ebony vs. Satinwood

[Rob_Yale]

Hi,

I'm about to take the plunge and buy a Steinway - probably an L.  While I realize that there is no difference in sound between the Ebony and the Satinwood, I have become mesmerized by the beauty of the Satinwood instrument.

I'd like to hear folks opinions about instruments with high-end finishes.  Do they help the investment-value of the instrument?  Is investment-value a myth?  Or is the whole notion of buying an instrument with cosmetics and beauty as an additional consideration, a waste of money?

Thanks,

Rob Yale

[Rob_Yale]

Was this the wrong forum to ask this kind of question?  Or was it a Frequently Asked Question?

I'm surprised that there wasn't even a single reply.

Rob Yale

[Axtremus]

Just a thought:

Wood finish may go in or out of fashion, so it's value might fluctuate over time. When you buy, presumably you buy it when a particular wood color/finish is in fashion (else the piano maker would not make them), but when you sell, it may not. Same with "art cases," as the buying public's tastes and style preferences change over time.

(If pianos are good investment vehicles in the financial sense, one would think that the manufacturers/dealers could just lock the pianos in a warehouse and let them appreciate in value over time rather than being so eager to sell them. )

[Rob_Yale]

Just a thought:

(If pianos are good investment vehicles in the financial sense, one would think that the manufacturers/dealers could just lock the pianos in a warehouse and let them appreciate in value over time rather than being so eager to sell them. )

So perhaps the basic Ebony might be the best way to go?  The Satinwood is ridiculously gorgeous (even the grain on the lid lines up with the body of the piano) but is it worth paying 1/3 the price of th Ebony instrument just for the cosmetics?

As for your thought-experiment about leaving the pianos in warehouses; my understanding of investments is that Capital wants to keep moving according to demand.  A piano in a warehouse is a bit like the sound of a tree falling in the forest - with no one there to hear it!

But your point is well taken.  Piano's probably aren't real investment vehicles.  Although I probably won't lose the money I invested in the Steinway, its appreciation is probably lower than most investments.  But since I'm not really looking to make money on this, that's ok.  It just gives me comfort to know that the piano won't depreciate in that way that a car would.

Rob

[Axtremus]

I can certainly understand the allure of a beautiful wood finish -- after all, patterns and colors play a role in pretty much every piece of furniture I have ever bought. I bought a black piano myself. As much as I'd like to think that I bought my own piano based solely on its sound and touch, the reality is that I might very well have picked another piano if mine were to have come in, say, some really ugly bright magenta with criss-crossing bright green stripes!

I agree with you that pianos will depreciate much slower than automobiles. Whether the majority of Steinway pianos actually depreciate slower than pianos of other brands, I came across a few interesting debates on that subject without reaching a firm conclusion. (Certainly there are historical Steinways and exceptional Art Cases that auctioned for $millions... but those are very rare, and the majority of Steinways that were built and sold would follow a very different depreciation curve.)

My impression is that for most pianos, the ones that depreciates less for their owners are the ones bought used -- because the first-hand owners have taken the largest depreciation hit. (Even used Steinway D's coming off the C&A fleet would be quite a bit cheaper than brand new Model D.) Otherwise, as with pretty much any consumer item -- once you buy, it depreciates.

So my personal philosophy is to not mind the dollar value depreciation curve all that much, but concentrate on extracting joy and musical utility from my piano. Given a set price that I have already paid for my piano, for me, the "return on investment" would be measured by how much joy/utility I extract from my piano over the years rather than how much I (or the one who would be inheriting it from me) would be selling it for in the future. (This works for me because I have a piano that I'm quite happy with with no plan to sell it in the foreseeable future. But I'll admit that if one were to buy an interim piano with intention to resell it later, then resale value becomes a real concern.) Unless one actually sells it in the future, the "appreciated/retained value" of the piano would be "like the sound of a tree falling in the forest - with no one there to hear it!" )

Sorry to go off a rant like this. There is certainly joy in admiring a beautifully crafted, beautifully finished piano in and by itself. So I have nothing against owning a beautiful-looking piano, just like owning other visual art works. I hope you will love and enjoy your piano, in your own ways, with which ever piano you end up buying. Good luck!

[Rob_Yale]

Sorry to go off a rant like this. There is certainly joy in admiring a beautifully crafted, beautifully finished piano in and by itself. So I have nothing against owning a beautiful-looking piano, just like owning other visual art works. I hope you will love and enjoy your piano, in your own ways, with which ever piano you end up buying. Good luck!

No, I don't consider the above a rant! It's just good to bounce these thoughts off of other people, rather than off the inside of my skull!  

Thanks again,

Rob

[jr11]

You are a fortunate man indeed to be in a position to acquire such an instrument.

If I was in your shoes, I would go with my heart, and buy what I want. Re-sale value is a non-issue, as I would keep it till I die and pass it on through generations to come.